Hannah Owens

I will note, there are actually two species of Periopthalmus mudskippers in this video. It's from this study: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

YouTube video by Penn State University Mudskipper Blinking

#FishADay Periophthalmus barbarus Atlantic Mudskipper. Coastal tropical Africa. Spend most of their time on land, subsequently developed some unique adaptations to do things terrestrial tetrapods take for granted, like blinking--pulls its eyes into its head.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=twho...

Invader Alert: The New King of the Susquehanna Invasive flathead catfish have taken over as the top predator on the Susquehanna River, leading to changes in the river’s ecosystem.

#FishADay Pylodictis olivaris Flathead Catfish. FW from Great Lakes to Mexico. Reaches 150+ cm; closest living relative is a blind cave fish that reaches ~13 cm. Recent study documented reshuffling of food webs where it has invaded the Susquehanna www.wired2fish.com/news/invader...

YouTube video by Matt Pritchard satanoperca leucosticta mouth brooding 26.07.010 - 3

#FishADay Satanoperca leucosticta Whitespot Eartheater. FW Guiana shield. "Eartheater" because they grab mouthfuls of substrate and sift out tasty morsels. Mouth-brooded by females, sometimes from the egg stage, sometimes from the larval stage. youtu.be/vJE1wwwTGwQ

YouTube video by Oliver Knott Monopterus albus #shorts

And yet, they are very cute.
youtube.com/shorts/aZwr-...

#FishADay Monopterus albus Asian Swamp Eel. Widespread FW E and SE Asia. Adults & juveniles obligate air-breathers; earlier life stages absorb oxygen through skin. Makes control in introduced range hard--typical fish poisons are absorbed through gills. eu.naplesnews.com/story/news/2...

a stack of waffles on a plate with syrup being poured on top ALT: a stack of waffles on a plate with syrup being poured on top

Life's better with waffles, though.

Plotting summary figures for occCite search results — plot.occCiteData Generates up to three different kinds of plots, with toggles determining whether plots should be done for individual species or aggregating all species–histogram by year of occurrence records, waffle:...

Here's the plot function. If you don't have waffle installed, only the histogram plot will be made (and you'll get a warning that the waffle-based plots were skipped).

docs.ropensci.org/occCite/refe...

occCite: Querying and Managing Large Biodiversity Occurrence Datasets Facilitates the gathering of biodiversity occurrence data from disparate sources. Metadata is managed throughout the process to facilitate reporting and enhanced ability to repeat analyses.

New update to #occCite #Rstats package--we're up to v0.6.1. A dependency used for plotting has been archived on CRAN, but is still available via another repository. This makes it possible to plot occCite summary figures without exploding if waffle is unavailable.

cran.r-project.org/package=occC...

Long, slender fish — missing its fins — discovered in Brazil. It’s a new species The new species has been found in two small isolated waterways in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, according to a study.

#FishADay Listrura elongata. Freshly described from Rio Camboriú basin in Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Very elongate burrower missing dorsal and pectoral fins (they'd just get in the way anyway). Two other species in the genus have indepenedently lost fins. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...

YouTube video by CHASING SCALES Finding Britain's Lost Fish (BURBOT)

#FishADay Lota lota Burbot. Circumpolar; the only freshwater gadiform. 16th century accounts in the UK say they were so common they were used as pig food; they have not been seen in the UK since the 1960s. youtu.be/FRxxB_INZQk?...

YouTube video by Strangefish Spotted Wobbegong - Orectolobus maculatus

#FishADay Orectolobus maculatus Spotted Wobbegong. South coast of Australia. Coloration and fleshy lappets help it blend in with bottom to catch prey unawares, hence its other names--carpet shark and tassel shark. www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1lQ...

Also it is very cute.

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) MBARI's advanced underwater robot reveals a new species of deep-sea snailfish

#FishADay Careproctus colliculi Bumpy Snailfish. Newly described species from Monterey Canyon off California. Single specimen (collected via suction sampler by ROV Doc Ricketts in 3268 m of water) is distinct from congeners based on (name gave it away) fleshy bumps on its head.

youtu.be/hwsl-ebVVoU

Dark ages: Genomic analysis shows how cavefish lost their eyes In a new study, Yale researchers used genomic analysis to show when cavefishes lost their eyes, which provides a method for dating cave systems.

#FishADay Troglichthys rosae Ozark Cavefish. Native to around 15 caves on Ozark Plateau in SE US. No optic nerve and only rudimentary eyes; instead uses sensory papillae to detect prey.
Recent study found they began adapting to cave life ~ 2-11 million years ago.
news.yale.edu/2025/08/27/d...

Now that #FishADay has covered all six candidates for Denmark's National Fish, vote here! (and if you care to, comment with your choice!)

nationalfisk.dk/hvilke-fisk-...

Atlantic Herring - SeaChoice

As with other candidates for Denmark's national fish, they are heavily fished and some stocks are in bad shape. It's important to check your herring for a Marine Stewardship Coucil certification.

www.msc.org/what-you-can...

YouTube video by HuntleyFilmArchives Smoking Herring in Denmark, 1950s - Archive Film 1067159

Not just a Christmas lunch staple, Denmark's final candidate for national fish is of a historical heavy-hitter. There are herring bones at archeological sites dating back 7kybp and the Baltic herring fishery was one of Denmark's first major income sources in the Middle Ages.

youtu.be/rG4qxlp4xXE

For 15 Years Sweden Thought Enemy Submarines Were Invading Its Territory. It Turned Out To Be Herring Farts

#FishADay Clupea harengus Atlantic Herring. North Atlantic benthopelagic. School in huge numbers; communicate by releasing air from swim bladder through anus. Yeah, yeah fine. Farting. Strange sounds in the Cold War Baltic were feared to be submarines, but...yeah. www.iflscience.com/for-15-years...

Closing the Gap Between Researchers and Policymakers: Lessons from the History of Fisheries Management in the United States Increases in sea surface temperature have led to distributional changes in many commercially exploited fish species. These changes have already led to conflict over mackerel fisheries, arising from...

See also this idiosyncratic paper by yours truly on the relationship between science and policy for eastern US fisheries. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Cod Wars - Wikipedia

Denmark's fifth candidate for national fish, cod has been fished by humans for thousands of years. NW Atlantic fishery collapsed spectacularly in the 1990s; NE still produces a spectacular amount of codfish, but there is a long history of conflict over management. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_Wars

YouTube video by Coastal Ecology Cod in Vesterhage

#FishADay Gadus morhua, Atlantic Cod. North Atlantic benthopelagic. School during the day, disperse at night to feed. A 5kg female can produce 2.5 million eggs in a season; larvae drift in pelagic, then settle to the bottom as adults. youtu.be/x8FZ7u-yFbA?...

Here's the link: conferences.au.dk/tibs-aarhus-...

It isn't too late to submit an abstract for the @biogeography.bsky.social meeting in Aarhus in January! They just extended the deadline to 8 September. Hope to see you there!

Governments urged to agree quota-sharing deal as new data shows Atlanto-Scandian herring and mackerel stocks plummet The MSC is calling on fishing nations of the North Atlantic to end the political deadlock and agree on a lasting quota sharing deal for Atlanto-Scandian (AS) herring, blue whiting, and mackerel.

Fourth candidate for Denmark's national fish, known as "poor man's summer fish". While a common and popular food fish, current Northeast Atlantic Mackerel is not considered sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (35% more than scientific recommendations in 2023). www.msc.org/media-centre...

YouTube video by bertiebirdman Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

#FishADay Scomber scombrus Atlantic Mackerel. Temperate epipelagic North Atlantic. Spends summer near coasts, follows warm water at depth and farther from the coast in the winter. Highly commercial, reported in dense shoals 9 km long, 4 km wide, and 40 m!! youtu.be/5LhVBlZc1v0

YouTube video by Nick Fishing Europe This SEA TROUT fishing at Fyn, DENMARK is crazy! (Sea Trout, havsöring, sjøørret, meerforelle)

The third candidate for Denmark's national fish, Sea Trout is a very popular target for recreational anglers in Denmark and beyond. Damming rivers for hydroelectric power has had a big impact on the sea trout life cycle, but fish ladders can help. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffL...

YouTube video by NTNU The secret life of sea trout

#FishADay Salmo trutta trutta Sea Trout. Anadromous form of Brown Trout, native to coastal Europe. At sea, silvery w/ spots, but on return to freshwater to breed, take on "typical" Brown Trout coloration. Unlike anadromous salmon, post-spawning die-off is not typical. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cza...

The second candidate for Denmark's national fish, plaice (rødspatter in Danish) is usually fried and often eaten on a slice of buttered rye bread for lunch.

There was excessive take in the 80s, and 90s, but it appears to be a reasonable choice if you are concerned about sustainable fisheries.

YouTube video by haraldhjellum Chasing a European Plaice

#FishADay Pleuronectes platessa Plaice. Common on sandy and muddy bottoms of the European continental shelf. Both eyes are on the right side of adult body, and while color can vary, they always have distinctive red spots. youtu.be/3MhZyeXt9Z0