(no subject)

[senoritafish]

This is a really nifty little video. I always wondered why flying fish have that extra long lower lobe on their caudal fin (tail); sort of the opposite of a shark. This shows what it's used for - the fish is actually extending his glide out of the water with it by beating the water as if he's swimming!

Longest recorded flight for a flying fish:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7410421.stm

Around here, flying fish are more active at night, and in Avalon, out on Catalina Island, there's a very old tourist attraction of boats with spotlights taking visitors out to see them skimming along the water. This reminds me of a story someone told me when I first started working here; one of the older biologists - retired now - was piloting a small boat at nighttime out there. He was standing up, driving the boat along at a pretty good clip and looking over the windshield, when a flying fish jumped and smacked him right in the face - and they are hard bony little fish, too. He went flying into the back of the boat, while his coworkers were wondering why they'd suddenly stopped. Broke his nose, I think. Ouch. Hazards of being a biologist?

Comments

[euge-o-rama.livejournal.com]

I stumbld across your journal via a mutual friend. This video and your tale have obliged me to friend you. Bon jour!