tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post1904518126874384110..comments2024-03-18T09:44:41.095+00:00Comments on ShukerNature: TURNING UP LIKE A BAD BLENNY - A SMALL BUT DEADLY MIDDLE EASTERN MYSTERY FISH?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15628598508836601012noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-22852958977476661472016-10-20T22:49:38.075+01:002016-10-20T22:49:38.075+01:00https://weather.com/science/nature/video/crowds-og...https://weather.com/science/nature/video/crowds-ogle-rare-white-hummingbirdLaurence Clark Crossenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908708438427333473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-61116337568493212762016-09-25T19:39:27.449+01:002016-09-25T19:39:27.449+01:00Coad published info re the catfish but I'm not...Coad published info re the catfish but I'm not aware that he did so directly in relation to the mystery fish, as I did. I'll contact him and see if he can shed any light on this mystery.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-74390731664137126852016-09-25T19:19:22.354+01:002016-09-25T19:19:22.354+01:00If you are concerned with priority, it looks like ...If you are concerned with priority, it looks like Coad published on the subject in 1993. My google search teased the Caras quote but because that paper is on Taylor and Francis I can't get full access without going to an academic library. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09397140.1993.10637648?needAccess=true<br /><br />Due to the tragic events in that region it would now be unlikely to find anyone in the region who could identify the fish on such a flimsy description. Perhaps the problem could be resolved by finding the original report and re-translating it, as Caras' report is undetailed and he is no longer available for elucidation. I assume he gave no reference for his source for this report in his book? Perhaps Brian W Coad could help with narrowing down the original source of this report? He has contact details on his website: http://www.briancoad.comPattockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741004991950391554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-24193050848576688212016-09-25T06:38:55.614+01:002016-09-25T06:38:55.614+01:00Thanks for this information, Pat, which makes inte...Thanks for this information, Pat, which makes interesting reading, even though I first documented the catfish option a full 15 years before this paper's authors did, lol (in my book Mysteries of Planet Earth, 1999). Yes, this catfish does appear to have a reputation for being fatal in humans, but judging from their paper's wording there is apparently still no actual confirmation of this, so until/unless any such confirmation does arise, the situation concerning its candidature as the Shatt-al-Arab mystery fish cannot be advanced any further than already noted here by me. All of this is anecdotal, hearsay. What is needed to resolve the issue once and for all is the capture of a specimen claimed locally to be the mystery fish, which can then be examined and identified.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-85763622511706760222016-09-25T06:03:44.047+01:002016-09-25T06:03:44.047+01:00Brian W Coad has this to say on Heteropneustes fos...Brian W Coad has this to say on Heteropneustes fossilis toxicity in an exhaustive treatment in "Review of the Freshwater Catfishes of Iran (Order Siluriformes)" in the Iranian Journal of Ichthyology (December 2014), 1(4): 218-257<br />http://ijichthyol.org/index.php/iji/article/view/6/4<br /><br />**********************************************<br />An important food fish in<br />India and Sri Lanka, where its flesh is reported to<br />have invigorating qualities. Some fish are exported<br />from Sri Lanka for the aquarium trade. V. D.<br />Vladykov reported (in litt. 22 July 1963) that he had<br />seen this species in pet shops in Tehran, on sale at<br />about $2.00 each. The pectoral spine can cause a<br />serious wound because of the toxin content of the<br />epidermal cells covering the spine. The histology of<br />the pectoral spines was described by Bhimachar<br />(1944) based on Indian material and the toxin was<br />found to have both neurotoxic and haemolytic<br />effects. The toxin is fatal to frogs (within 15-20<br />minutes of subcutaneous injection of glycerinated<br />venom) and to other fishes. <br /><br />Zakaria (1964) reported severe swelling<br />involving the whole arm from a hand sting in Iraq.<br />The swelling and pain recede after about a day but<br />the puncture wound can take about two weeks to heal<br />and some pain can be felt when applying pressure to<br />the wound site up to six weeks later. Caras (1964)<br />(probably based on a report in Farsi in Game and<br />Nature, Tehran, ca. 1961) recorded a diminutive<br />black fish found in the Shatt al Arab which reputedly<br />killed 28 people with a venomous bite (sic). Death<br />was said to be swift. This was presumably a garbled<br />report on this species. Verbal and newspaper reports<br />from Tehran (V. D. Vladykov, in litt. 26 August<br />1961) maintain that this species could cause death to<br />cattle and humans although Vladykov (in litt. 30<br />September 1963) considered fatal cases "not well<br />proved". I was stung in the thumb by this fish in Iran<br />with no effect (although I did devote considerable<br />time and effort into squeezing and sucking blood<br />from the puncture site!). Freshly caught or netted fish<br />swing the head from side to side and thus are active<br />envenomators (despite knowing this I was still<br />stung). Treatment is symptomatic and some relief can<br />be obtained by immersing the sting site in water as<br />hot as can be withstood and applying a meat<br />tenderiser. These treatments serve to coagulate the protein toxin. The wound should be cleaned to avoid secondary infections such as tetanus (Halstead 1967-1970; Coad 1979). <br /><br />Dorooshi (2012) reports on two envenomations<br />by catfish referred to the poison center of Noor<br />Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.<br />The catfish were aquarium specimens and their<br />identity was not specifically stated but it was implied<br />that they were Heteropneustes fossilis. The stings<br />were on the hands, causing swelling and pain.<br />Immersion in hot water (temperature 45°C) led to a<br />gradual reduction and elimination of pain in less than<br />half an hour.<br />**********************************************<br /><br />I would take from this that:<br /><br />The fish has a reputation for being fatal in humans.<br /><br />The original report for Caras' information was in Farsi and translated into English. This makes it easy to confuse bite and sting and perhaps other ambiguity. <br /><br />The thrashing of the fish to sting its captor may make it easy to mistake the sting with a bite, especially as the pectoral fin is very close to the head.<br /><br />The fish is abundant and well-known in the Shatt-Al Arab.Pattockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741004991950391554noreply@blogger.com