Hello! I'm Bebe. This is my first time posting on this forum, although I've been a long-term silent user of the site for months. Today a friend of mine asked me a question to which I did not know the answer, and if nothing else comes of it, at least it gave me an excuse to register here.
My friend has endeavored to describe to me a fish that he saw years ago, at a park in Alva, Oklahoma. It so happens that when it rains there, it floods, forming large puddles. It had rained three days before, so he was able to approach a puddle about five feet wide, and 7-10 inches deep, or thereabout. In one of the puddles he saw a fish that neither he or anyone in his family has seen before, and he's attempted to describe it to me:
It was brown, and at least two feet/half a metre long, with "a strange, thin, long-finned tail, a square-ish body." It reminds one of the marine rattail fish, seen below, but since this was in a park, not the lower depths of the Arctic Ocean, we've ruled that out. It was in very good condition so presumably it hadn't just been left for dead by a careless owner. It had a large dorsal fin, which originally made me think of a catfish, but he said that the mouth was tilted upward, hinged at the bottom, which, if I'm clear about this, would suggest that it dwells at the uppermost part of the water column.
We've found pictures that remind him of it, that is:
The Oarfish, Regalecus glesne (But his was brown and more box-like)
Cohen's Rattail, Nezumia coheni. He maintains that it resembles this one the closest.
The eelpout, Pachycara gymninium. The site says that it is of the family Zoarcidae; is anyone familiar with it? Perhaps you know if there's any other species that resembles what my friend describes.I couldn't decide between asking here or at one of the fishing forums that specialize in game fish--but as I said, I've lurked at this forum for some time and the worst thing that can come of making this forum is getting better acquainted with you guys.
My friend has endeavored to describe to me a fish that he saw years ago, at a park in Alva, Oklahoma. It so happens that when it rains there, it floods, forming large puddles. It had rained three days before, so he was able to approach a puddle about five feet wide, and 7-10 inches deep, or thereabout. In one of the puddles he saw a fish that neither he or anyone in his family has seen before, and he's attempted to describe it to me:
It was brown, and at least two feet/half a metre long, with "a strange, thin, long-finned tail, a square-ish body." It reminds one of the marine rattail fish, seen below, but since this was in a park, not the lower depths of the Arctic Ocean, we've ruled that out. It was in very good condition so presumably it hadn't just been left for dead by a careless owner. It had a large dorsal fin, which originally made me think of a catfish, but he said that the mouth was tilted upward, hinged at the bottom, which, if I'm clear about this, would suggest that it dwells at the uppermost part of the water column.
We've found pictures that remind him of it, that is:
The Oarfish, Regalecus glesne (But his was brown and more box-like)
Cohen's Rattail, Nezumia coheni. He maintains that it resembles this one the closest.
The eelpout, Pachycara gymninium. The site says that it is of the family Zoarcidae; is anyone familiar with it? Perhaps you know if there's any other species that resembles what my friend describes.
