Trivia question for Apr-25-2011

Olivia’s turn and she picked out this weird one all on her own.  Although they can breathe in water, they primarily breath air.  These guys generally inhabit shallow waters such as swamps and marshes, however they are also found in larger lakes such as Lake Victoria. They can live out of water for long periods of time in burrows of hardened mud beneath a dried-up stream bed. They are carnivorous, eating crustaceans, aquatic insect larvae, and mollusks.

Native Africans have been found to dig up these fish, burrow and all, and store it for later use when they want fresh fish to eat. These fish have also been carried in their mud burrows for exhibition in the United States. They have a strong taste. The taste is such that “it is locally either highly appreciated or strongly disliked”.  In Uganda, females do not eat these fish because they consider it a “sister fish,” and therefore it is associated with men and manhood.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what kind of fish this is and tell us how big they can get.  Also, during severe droughts these guys can survive for how long cocooned in a mud burrow?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Olivia is all smiles today because this is the first time she was able to stump everyone.  We had some great and even odd guesses but no one got it correct.   The slimy looking fish we featured is the African Lungfish.  African lungfishes are elongated, eel-like fishes, with thread-like pectoral and pelvic fins.  They have soft scales, and the dorsal and tail fins are fused into a single structure.  They can either swim like eels, or crawl along the bottom, using their pectoral and pelvic fins. The largest species reach about 6.6 ft long.

During dry seasons, these guys can remain cocooned in a mud burrow for up to four years.  Here is more on these odd fish:  African Lungfish

Thanks for playing along 😉