Rosie o' Donnel and the Hagfish

Celebrity Look Alikes

The lionfish, also known as the turkey fish, is famous for being both poisonous and beautiful. They are successful predators of the sea; the Lionfish is gifted with quick movement and fins that fan out to corner their prey. Like Cher's hair, the fish come in a variety of colors: black, orange, red, etc. Their spines deliver a painful venom to predators and prey that are trying to escape. They have been known to inflict wounds on curious divers and aquarium enthusiasts.

Even more colorful is the cuttlefish, which can blend into its surroundings and change color as it changes its mood. The cuttlefish pictured here next to Manson is almost as white as he is, but that doesn't mean he will stay this way for long:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SCgtYWUybIE

Indeed, the cuttlefish is the most cunning of hunters for its ability to blend in with seaweed and sand. They live near shorelines, so that they can feed off of smaller particles that wash up with the tide.

The cuttlefish can range from the size of a baseball to the size of a small dog. Larger cuttlefish are found off the coast of Australia, where they have been known to follow divers around. They are a type of squid known for their intelligence and curiosity...unlike Manson.

The most striking resemblance is the hagfish and Rosie O'Donnel. The hagfish is known for its disgusting slime that it secretes and how it feeds on its prey- not by eating it from the outside, but by eating it from the inside. They enter through any (and by any, i mean ANY) opening in the fish, eating its intestines.

The tomato clownfish is one of the lesser-known types of clownfish, with its bright red coloring. The clownfish hide in sea anemones to protect themselves from predators. Recently, the clownfish Nemo made his appearance on the big screen in the hit movie Finding Nemo. Will Ferrel has also had some hit films such as Stranger than Fiction, Elf, and Anchorman.

The Invisible Shark and the Virgin Mary

One of the most unique sharks in the world is also one of the most elusive. For many years, the Cookie Cutter Shark was thought to be only a myth. Ships would return back to port with curious bite marks that were almost perfectly circular in their hull. For a while, the possibility that it was an animal seemed impossible; the holes in the hulls were too perfect.



The cookie cutter shark has a circular set of teeth that allows it to take chunks out of its prey.
Instead of having a set of teeth that bite down on its prey, the cookie cutter runs into another fish and take a "plug" of meat out of it. Another interesting thing the cookie cutter does is glow in the dark- a rare trait called bioluminesence. But because of the minimal cookie cutter/human contact, there hasn't been much information about this strange fish.





Meanwhile, the Virginia Aquarium scratches their heads at another shark mystery. Tidbit, a blacktip reef shark, had been put under sedative and gotten her yearly checkup. However, the sedatives were not agreeing with Tidbit's body. Later, she died quite suddenly, leaving the aquarium employees to wonder why she had reacted so badly to the sedative.

Later, when Tidbit was receiving an autopsy, vet Bob George noticed a small, unborn baby. It was almost fully functional, with only a short amount of time left before the birth. The only problem:


There was absolutely no way Tidbit could have had a baby.


Blacktip sharks only mate with other blacktip sharks, and Tidbit was the only Blacktip in her tank- and had been for about 10 years. A fatherless birth- it seemed impossible. What's more, Tidbit showed no evidence of being pregnant; so if the baby had been born, the aquarium staff probably wouldn't have noticed.

This virgin birth has really only been seen a couple times before in animals (and also in the Bible), and scientists still arent quite clear on how some sharks can have fatherless babies.
Asexual reproduction is somewhat of a miracle- it's a neat trick. It involves the process of parthogenesis, and it usually happens in insects.

Tidbit's case could hold some very interesting information. If a shark can complete the process of parthogenesis, then what other animals can? Moreover, could humans gain from this research?

The Ugliest Fish in the World

You'd be surprised at mother nature.

You'd also be surprised at what we eat.

Monkfish, arguably the ugliest fish in the world, is considered a fine dish in many countries, including America. Recently, the monkfish reared its ugly head on the popular reality TV show, "Top Chef", where the contestants cooked up dishes such as "Monkfish with Marscapone Potatoes" and "Monkfish Liver braised with Apple Hash". Even Julia Child liked to cook with Monkfish.

Monkfish can be found anywhere from the Grand Banks to South Carolina. Occasionally, a monkfish will wander into the bottom of the Chesapeake. The monkfish can grow up to three feet long (normally- some have been reported to be six feet long), and is a bottom feeder. Despite its appearance, this fish is extremely popular. The meat is sweet and firm, and it goes well with almost anything. There are now several sites devoted to preparing the ugly monkfish, such as monkfish.net.

Lately, the monkfish has become more and more expensive, due to overfishing and rarity. As a reaction to this, the FMP (Monkfish Fishery Management Plan) has been regulating the population.

But that's not the most ridiculous fish that people consider gourmet. The infamous Fugu, or puffer fish, is one of the most dangerous dishes in the world. For, if this pufferfish isn't prepared just right, then the Fugu is deadly. This is because the fugu is loaded with tetrodotoxin- a poison that paralyzes the muscles. The most poisonous (and most expensive) fugu is the torafugu. A usual torafugu dish goes for about 100-200 dollars per dish.

For years, many have been fascinated by this delicacy, and it has been cooked in many parts of Asia. Of course, in order to prepare it and sell it, the chef must be licensed. Thankfully, illegal fugu-cooking has gone down, and because you can now buy prepared fugu at the grocery store, the number of fugu deaths has gone down as well.

So even though it is one of the ugliest fishes in the world, the monkfish has enjoyed more and more popularity. And the fugu remains a frequent dish as well, even though it is loaded with a paralyizing poison. Despite their appearances, or even the chance that they might kill you, people still insist on eating weird fish.