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Golden Threadfin Bream (Nemipterus virgatus)
Golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus) sold frozen. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) I don’t always buy frozen fish, but when I do, I usually regret it. To be clear, fish that is caught and...
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Pejerrey (Odontesthes regia)
Sold as smelt, this is actually a package of Chilean silversides (Odonesthes regia), which is not in the smelt family, Osmeridae. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) This is not a bag of smelt. Fish...
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Mu (Monotaxis grandoculis)
The head of an adult bigeye emperor or mu (Monotaxis grandoculis) at a Japanese restaurant. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) My good friend Len and I stopped by our favorite Japanese restaurant...
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European Sprat (Sprattus sprattus)
A box of frozen Janssons frestelse sold by IKEA in the United States, reclining comfortably on an IKEA Karlstad chair. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) All foods have a cultural context. What it...
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Branzino (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Loup de mer (Dicentrarchus labrax). (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis) My local brasserie hosts a French conversation happy hour each week, and “animals” was the theme of our most recent session. Our...
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Flame Hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus)
Neocirrhites armatus, the flame hawkfish, perched in a saltwater aquarium. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) This little fish was my dinner date on a recent night out. Though it turns out she has...
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Machete (Elops affinis)
A Pacific ladyfish or machete (Elops affinis) caught in Mexico. (Image Source: steeliemike.blogspot.com) The machete (Elops affinis) is one of several species of the ladyfish family, Elopidae, which...
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Splendid Toadfish (Sanopus splendidus)
Sanopus splendidus, the splendid toadfish, photographed in Cozumel, Mexico. (Image Credit: Jim Lyle. Used with permission.) Behold, the splendid toadfish (Sanopus splendidus) — a fish that would not...
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Spotcheek Cichlid (Thorichthys ellioti)
An adult Thorichthys ellioti. (Image Source: http://www.aquariumlife.com.au) Let’s just get this out of the way: disappointingly, the fish genus Thorichthys is not named after Thor, neither the Norse...
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Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops)
Spotted sucker (Minytrema melanops) swimming in the Head Spring of the Ichetucknee River, Florida, USA. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) I recently traveled to Gainesville, Florida, for the...
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Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata)
Last month, I visited Gainesville, Florida, attending the annual meeting of the National Association of Science Writers, as well as taking in a fishseeking side trip. My flight itinerary back from the...
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Onaga (Etelis coruscans)
Two slices of onagadai (Etelis coruscans) brushed with soy sauce, flanked by pollock roe to the left and salmon roe to the right. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) [We return with a visit to the...
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Tiger Sorubim (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum)
O, Facebook. That tar-pit of humanity. Drawing in every speck of dirt and whimsy blowing by, sucking us in and draining our mortal life. A dark, mirror pond of selfies, foodstuff, engagement rings, and...
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White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
A scene from the California fishes exhibit at the 2014 Picnic Day at University of California, Davis. (Image Credit: Ben Young Landis) What simplicity and gentleness this scene sings. As children, we...
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Medai (Hyperoglyphe japonica)
Hyperoglphe japonica, the Pacific barrelfish or medai. Image Credit: Ben Young Landis/CC-BY) “And also tonight we have bluenose.” The name caught my ear. I had never heard of such a fish. Yet here was...
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Baby Whale (Brienomyrus brachyistius)
For many Europeans and North Americans, December brings out the festive traditions of the Christmas tree or tannenbaum, where evergreen trees often get decorated with electric lights, glowing and...
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Balloonfish (Diodon holocanthus)
Rest in peace, Pablow the Blowfish. Unbeknownst to me and probably also to you, Miley Cyrus is an aquarist. Followers of the American singer’s Instagram were reminded of her piscine pets in February...
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Moontail Bullseye (Priacanthus hamrur)
I have my cable company to thank for a fantastic fish story involving the Vietnam War, college basketball, a chance storm, and a country boy named “Red”. And it wasn’t because of a T.V. show. Allow me...
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The Hildebrand Rarity (Sargocentron sp. nov.)
The yellow-tipped squirrelfish (Sargocentron seychellense), an actual species of squirrelfish found in the Seychelles. (Image by the renowned ichthyologist John E. Randall/CC BY-NC 3.0) Bond. James...
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