The Identity of a Fish Could Affect My Grade
October 14, 2008 12:01 PM Subscribe
Please help me identify some fishes my teacher caught in the Gulf of Maine.
I do not know whether or not this request is an actual assignment and would really appreciate your help in the matter. He states that I can use any resources at my disposal and so I chose Metafilter. I do not know anything else except that he found it in the Gulf of Maine.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
I do not know whether or not this request is an actual assignment and would really appreciate your help in the matter. He states that I can use any resources at my disposal and so I chose Metafilter. I do not know anything else except that he found it in the Gulf of Maine.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Even cod fry have flanged tails. The rat-like whip-tail which tapers to a point, the bulbous eyes, the distinctive "nose", and the "soft" looking skin are all suggestive of ratfish, in my opinion, but I'm not a biologist.
posted by Rumple at 12:19 PM on October 14, 2008
posted by Rumple at 12:19 PM on October 14, 2008
Cod would have three distinct dorsal fins and quite a differnt caudal set up. Ratfish wouldn't have scales I don't think and I think they all have a distinct spine in front of the dorsal fin. Also they're kind of uncommon.
My guess is grenadiers, also known as rattails or whiptails. They are pretty common little dudes at depth basically everywhere. They are in the Gadiformes (cod) order.
If this affects your grades you need to have a lot more info including dorsal and, more importantly, pectoral fin shape and size to make a good case for your ID. You can use the guides on FishBase that I linked to.
posted by fshgrl at 12:33 PM on October 14, 2008
My guess is grenadiers, also known as rattails or whiptails. They are pretty common little dudes at depth basically everywhere. They are in the Gadiformes (cod) order.
If this affects your grades you need to have a lot more info including dorsal and, more importantly, pectoral fin shape and size to make a good case for your ID. You can use the guides on FishBase that I linked to.
posted by fshgrl at 12:33 PM on October 14, 2008
ps "grenadiers" is not a species. If he wants you to ID to species, I hope you have one in hand and a good dichotomous key!
posted by fshgrl at 12:34 PM on October 14, 2008
posted by fshgrl at 12:34 PM on October 14, 2008
Our good friends at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute may be able to help if people here cannot.
posted by anastasiav at 12:44 PM on October 14, 2008
posted by anastasiav at 12:44 PM on October 14, 2008
I came in to say juvenile rat-tails. Chimeras don't have such large scales, at least in the adult form.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:42 PM on October 14, 2008
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:42 PM on October 14, 2008
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posted by Rumple at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2008