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The fish that hunts on land

Catfish show how the first tetrapods might have caught dinner.

Zoologists have found a remarkable fish that can wriggle from Africa's tropical swamps to snaffle a snack on land.

Read the story here.

Posted by Nicola Jones on April 12, 2006 05:48 PM |

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That's nothing. In Hawai'i, we used to chuck pieces of hot dogs on the rocks that got hit by the waves, and a couple minutes later, there were eels all over the places climbing on the rocks to get at the food.

Posted by: Terry Benton | April 13, 2006 03:55 AM

When I was in Thailand in '65-'67 I visited a small farm WSW of Bangkok.

Note: I tried to find that farm in 1988 and found that the area was occupied by an industrial complex and a series of fish farms - fish farms as far as rhe eye could see.

In the shallow pond/swamp I saw a number of fish that raised their heads above the water and appeared to be breathing air. Since that time I haved inquired at the dept. of ickyology at the U. of Washington about these air breathing fish and was advised that there are no such fish in Thailand. That, of cours, is BS. I saw them.

It was a small farm: the main product was "duck", the quack quack kind.

Does anyone here have any info. on these air breathing fish?

E-mail me at johnfarbarik8310@msn.com.

Posted by: John Farbarik | April 19, 2006 12:56 AM

Monopterus alba eats out of water. Read about their accidental release in Georgia: http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/atlanta_urban_wildlife/rice_eel/index.html
Some eels eat out of water, too.

Posted by: D Russ | April 27, 2006 12:57 AM

When I was young I saw talapia "gulping" air in sugar cane ditches. The water was very muddy and stagnant. Seems similar to what you saw in Thailand.

Posted by: randal | December 31, 2006 08:11 PM

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