Holy MOLY! Huge Catfish feeds an ENTIRE Village!

[irishgrl]

World's Largest Catfish Caught in Mekong (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0629_050629_catfishgiant.html)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/images/050629_giantcatfishPIN.jpg

June 29, 2005—A fish to validate even the tallest fishing whopper was wrestled out of a river in northern Thailand a month ago. The 646-pound (293-kilogram) Mekong giant catfish measured nearly nine feet (2.7 meters) long—thought to be the largest freshwater fish on record.

Scientist Zeb Hogan, who is on a National Geographic-sponsored expedition to study the great freshwater fishes of the world, said he scoured Thai and other records but could not find any fish that weighed more than this one. "If there are reliable records of larger freshwater fish, I'd like to know about them," he said.

The Thai fishers who caught the giant catfish struggled for more than an hour to land the behemoth. At first it was hoped the male fish could be returned to the river to continue its spawning migration. But the fish died and ended up feeding almost an entire village.

"I'm convinced that there are even larger living freshwater fish, even catfish," Hogan said. "I think the giant freshwater stingray is probably the biggest of the freshwater fishes. I've heard stories that they can weigh 500 kilograms [1,100 pounds] or more, and I believe them." (view a photo of a giant freshwater stingray (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/photogalleries/giantcatfish/photo6.html) )

The giant catfish caught in Thailand needs to be put in context, Hogan said. "These giant fish are uniformly poorly studied and some are critically endangered. Some, like the Mekong giant catfish, face extinction. My study of giant freshwater fish is showing a clear and global pattern: the largest fish species are disappearing. The challenge is clear—we must find methods to protect these species and their habitats."

—David Braun

View a photo gallery (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/photogalleries/giantcatfish/) of the giant catfish.

Read the news story (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0629_050629_giantcatfish.html) about the catfish and Zeb Hogan's great fishes project.

[GateandGarden]

That is too cool. Too bad it had to die. I mean, I'm sure it's good nourishment and all, but it's such a wonderful creature. I wish it could still be swimming around. I've seen some big catfishes, but wow! :shocked:

[DrummerDeanna]

HOly Crap!!! That is one big ass fish!!!

[irishgrl]

Im with you....with genes like THAT we could solve world hunger! ;) We NEED fishes like that to spawn.......plus they are just majestic creatures and awe inspiring to look at....

[seeker007nmss]

Fishy...Fishy...Fish... Who can spot the fish? (Okay Monty Python Fans...There you go)

[darklinensuit]

:shocked:
I just flahed on that story from a couple of years ao when the whale exploded all over that city street in Asia. Blechh.

- Jake

[David]

Holy Christ on a flipper!!

You know, I would not personally partake of that catfish. I don't like to eat of freaks of nature. It's obviously some sort of mutant. Its flesh must be composed of mutant cells with strange habits.

[darklinensuit]

Holy Christ on a flipper!!

You know, I would not personally partake of that catfish. I don't like to eat of freaks of nature. It's obviously some sort of mutant. Its flesh must be composed of mutant cells with strange habits.

:shrug: Tastes like chicken.

- Jake

[GateandGarden]

:shocked:
I just flahed on that story from a couple of years ao when the whale exploded all over that city street in Asia. Blechh.

- JakeWhoa! I didn't hear about that! What happened there? :shocked:

[darklinensuit]

Whoa! I didn't hear about that! What happened there? :shocked:


Huge whale, waiting to be moved in the street, and the heat made it go boom. It was foul. There were pics, but I'm sure they can't do the smell justice. :distress:

- Jake

[GateandGarden]

Huge whale, waiting to be moved in the street, and the heat made it go boom. It was foul. There were pics, but I'm sure they can't do the smell justice. :distress:

- Jake
How awful! :(

[GateandGarden]

http://perp.com/whale/

[darklinensuit]

How awful! :(

I was appalled & ran around to the science teachers, but they said this stuff has happened a few times. They didn't bat an eyelash. Blechh.

- Jake

[GateandGarden]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3437455.stm

This must be what you were referring to, Jake.

[darklinensuit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3437455.stm

This must be what you were referring to, Jake.

Yup, that's it.
Be glad you missed the pics with the splattered people. :shocked:

- Jake

[wondergirl9847]

Sweet Moses, that is huge! And that stingray, wow!! That exploding whale...ew, gross. :shocked:

[irishgrl]

Holy Christ on a flipper!!

You know, I would not personally partake of that catfish. I don't like to eat of freaks of nature. It's obviously some sort of mutant. Its flesh must be composed of mutant cells with strange habits.
David, that is an actual real species...in fact there are several extra large species of fish in that part of the world apparently. its not radioactive!

[irishgrl]

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4707137.stm)

Killer caterpillar stalks snails

The caterpillar is unique to Hawaii
A team of scientists has discovered a tiny caterpillar in Hawaii that binds snails with silk webbing before devouring them whole.

The caterpillar starts munching at the wide opening of the helpless snail's shell and continues until there is nothing left, Science magazine reports.

The creature is a first because scientists have never before witnessed a caterpillar eating a snail.

The team wants to know why this strange caterpillar lives only in Hawaii.

"Caterpillars and terrestrial snails co-occur widely on all the continents where they are present, but only in Hawaii have caterpillars evolved to hunt snails," Daniel Rubinoff and William Haines, from the University of Hawaii, wrote.

Why Hawaii?


This provides fresh evidence for the importance of isolation in the evolution of novel traits
Dr Rubinoff and Dr Haines, University of Hawaii
The caterpillars of the newly discovered species Hyposmocoma molluscivora are the first to be seen using silk to paralyse their prey.

"Although all caterpillars have silk glands, this predatory caterpillar uses silk in a spider-like fashion to capture and immobilise prey," Dr Rubinoff and Haines wrote.

When it comes across a suitable snail, the juvenile moth will spin a web anchoring the snail's shell to the leaf it is sitting on.

The larva then stretches its body out of its own silk jacket and pursues the retreating snail to the end of its shell, where there is no escape.

Scientists want to know why Hawaii has more than its share of strange creatures
Scientists are curious to notice that this unique predatory behaviour seems to occur nowhere else on Earth.

Since the Hawaiian islands are the most remote place in the world, scientists are tempted to conclude that isolation is a key factor in the development of unusual hunting strategies, although it is not quite clear why.

"Specialised predatory behaviour by lepidopteron larvae, an extremely rare phenomenon worldwide, has independently arisen at least twice in Hawaii," Dr Haines and Rubinoff wrote.

"[This] provides fresh evidence for the importance of isolation in the evolution of novel traits."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41331000/jpg/_41331697_killer_cat203.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41331000/jpg/_41331699_killer_cata_science203.jpg

[GateandGarden]

Now that is even stranger, Mary. I had assumed that all caterpillars were herbivores and this is bizarre. It's like it seems wrong to me for them to be eating other animals. You're good at finding us weird **** to go :shrug: to, huh? :D :laugh:

[irishgrl]

Now that is even stranger, Mary. You're good at finding us weird **** to go :shrug: to, huh? :D :laugh:

heh heh..I ARE! I ARE! :D :thumbsup: :laugh: :shocked: :eek: ;)

[ryan8472]

Now that's a ****ing big fish! How did they catch it?

[greatdarkwing]

You see, I don't mind swimming in the ocean with sharks and stuff.....but giant catfish....GROSS!!

[irishgrl]

You see, I don't mind swimming in the ocean with sharks and stuff.....but giant catfish....GROSS!!
the weird thing is, their "whiskers" are capable of "shocking" people....they are not just passive fish, they DO protect themselves....

[darklinensuit]

Now that's a ****ing big fish! How did they catch it?

F*cking big bait? :shrug:

- Jake

[Miss Vicky]

This article? Just makes me sad. Imagine how old that fish must've been to get that big. And now it's dead. Gee, let's research rare species of fish and kill some in the process 'cause that's real helpful to their survival. :rolleyes:

[irishgrl]

This article? Just makes me sad. Imagine how old that fish must've been to get that big. And now it's dead. Gee, let's research rare species of fish and kill some in the process 'cause that's real helpful to their survival. :rolleyes:

Im sure they didnt intend for it to die....and I read somewhere else that they tried to save its eggs (it was a female)

[GateandGarden]

This article? Just makes me sad. Imagine how old that fish must've been to get that big. And now it's dead. Gee, let's research rare species of fish and kill some in the process 'cause that's real helpful to their survival. :rolleyes:That was how I felt, too. It's great that they discovered it but it's awful that it had to die.