Life habits polypterus

[jaws7777]

https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2454356/2454356_djvu.txt

Im not sure if there is a post on this already but i thought i'd share it.

I thought a few facts were interesting especially how they didnt fare well in higher salinity water. I never felt they were comfy when i treated with salt.

Also that they eat catfish and that even in the wild males are less numerous

 

[kno4te]

Nice read.

 

[Grinch]

Interesting blast from the past!

These authors are using the Baconian method (induction as opposed to deduction); very obvious in their discussion of the respiratory apparatus:

"Although the fish was not often seen taking in air, the fol-
lowing fact goes to show that a respiratory function is possessed
by the swimming bladders or lungs. When the fish is opened
alive, a marked peristalsis may be observed making its way
along the right (larger) lobe of the so-called lungs. These
structures open by the common large (about 2 cm. long) glottis
into the pharynx, and they contain normally about four or five
hundred cubic centimeters of air."

Hard to imagine a paragraph like this in a modern primary literature paper from both a methodological perspective and an animal-care perspective.

 

[Grinch]

Reading a little further... they are also using abductive reasoning! While abductive reasoning is still seen in modern science, most journals would not allow a paragraph like this to go to press; simply too much speculation. Fun that they were able to get the local folk-lore into the article!

1. Migration. — Several of the fresh-water fishes found in the
Nile migrate each season to the Mediterranean to spawn. This
is the case with the eel (Hanash) and the several species of
mullets. It has never been supposed that Polypterus could be
found in any considerable numbers north of the second cataract,
so that there seemed to be little likelihood that this fish migrated.
When, however, fish were found in this lower part of the river
more abundantly than in any other part known, except the
head waters, it became a possibility that Polypterus had migra-
tory habits. Investigation of the distribution of Polypterus at
points intermediate to the second cataract and the mouth
showed that in the large brackish Lake Menzaleh, an enlarge-
ment of the Delta, no adult fish could be got, although it
was reported that two young Polypteri were obtained here
the year before. The single specimen in the Natural History
Museum at Cairo was the only one which had been seen in the
local markets there for a number of years. At Assiout, 325
miles from the sea, the fishermen did not recognize the stuffed
specimen shown them, but when the name, "aboubichir," was
mentioned they said that such a fish was occasionally found
there ; that it came from bad crocodiles' eggs and went down
the river, while the good eggs brought forth young crocodiles
that went up river !

 

[jaws7777]

I guess you havent read frank schaefers aqualog which is much of the same.

Speculation and polys are synonymous it seems. Infact 99% of how we keep this fish is derived from speculation since so little is really known.

 

[jaws7777]

A good number of these polys that are kept havent even been properly described as of yet.

Some say koloton and koliba are thought to be laps, some say they arent, some say they are tje same fish from different collection points some say they arent.

The whole sp.faranah/dabola/tinkisso/guinea fisco could probably fill a book.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile41.html

That description is clearly wrong lol.

senegalus meridionalis is it a mytjical beast or real ?

Congicus was thoougjt to be endli at one point.

Sp.aff congicus what the heck is it ?

All speculations....the fish just arent scientifically studied as much as we would like

 

[Grinch]

I guess you havent read frank schaefers aqualog which is much of the same.

Speculation and polys are synonymous it seems. Infact 99% of how we keep this fish is derived from speculation since so little is really known.

I have not read the aqualog for Bichirs.

I'd agree that speculation (a combination of inductive and abductive reasoning) is true with respect to species, sub-species, hybridization, migration, etc. But, I don't think "speculation" is rigidly true with respect to keeping polys in a fish tank. "Trial and error" seems like a better moniker relative to polys, which is much more akin to deductive reasoning and the way much of modern science is conducted! It's also worth pointing out that speculation is an important part of deduction in the scientific method, it occurs at the "hypothesis formulation" stage. It's really interesting to see these older papers with so much speculation... it's from a time when the tools of statistical inference were still in their infancy (and before Karl Popper came along!).

Personally, I've always felt that naturalists, as well as hobbyists, are under-valued in science. Sure, the above groups don't use statistical inference to aid in knowledge generation and don't follow all of the rules to the "scientific method", but for those with lots of hands-on experience, they can serve as a knowledgeable resource for professional scientists working to advance knowledge in a formal way.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Nice read

 

[clm08k]

https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2454356/2454356_djvu.txt

Im not sure if there is a post on this already but i thought i'd share it.

I thought a few facts were interesting especially how they didnt fare well in higher salinity water. I never felt they were comfy when i treated with salt.

Also that they eat catfish and that even in the wild males are less numerous

Yessssss! Gonna do this for some "light reading." Thanks for sharing! What is squalor? Not to be confused with aqualung that jethro Tull album or Zilch's lungfish. Ayyyyyyyyy

Grinch very interesting catches. Thank you for identifying that from a scientific/scholar perspective. Sounds like you've written some research papers in your day. Going to reread your posts as I read the article to get a deeper insight.

 

[Vancouver_98683]

https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2454356/2454356_djvu.txt

Im not sure if there is a post on this already but i thought i'd share it.

I thought a few facts were interesting especially how they didnt fare well in higher salinity water. I never felt they were comfy when i treated with salt.

Also that they eat catfish and that even in the wild males are less numerous

Yes, there has been a post, but it required lots of reading. Lol. This was publiushed by Nathan Russel Harrington in 1898. It was during his first zoological expedition of the Nile. It's a shame of his passing in 1899 due to fever while in Africa. There would of been more polypterus observations and we would know more about them.