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African fish leaps for land bugs (BBC)

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eppur_se_muova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 03:53 PM
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African fish leaps for land bugs (BBC)
By Rebecca Morelle
BBC News science reporter

Scientists have discovered a fish that can hunt and catch its prey on land.

The eel catfish, Channallabes apus, is found in the muddy swamps of the tropics of western Africa.

The 30-40cm-long (12-16in) fish is able to propel itself out of the water and bend its head downwards to capture insects in its jaws.

The Belgian researchers, writing in the journal Nature, hope this discovery will help to explain how fish moved from sea to land millions of years ago.

more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4902784.stm

Darwin, get thee behind me! Man, is this a bad week for the irrationalists!

This is not the only catfish that can venture out on land -- I remember "walking catfish" were (accidentally) introduced into the Everglades back in the Sixties.
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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 04:04 PM
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1. CATFISH!!
Go, li'l feller...!!
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populistdriven Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 04:12 PM
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2. So is this the "Missing Link" between Cats and Fish?
:P



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nevergiveup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 04:30 PM
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3. Asian Carp do the same thing
They have taken over parts of the Mississippi River. My brother-in-law had one jump in his boat.
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YankeyMCC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 07:55 PM
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4. Wow, that Africa
lots of weird stuff evolves there...first humans now jumping catfish. ;)
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