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Daily fish fact #330
General fish fact!
Many fish exhibit behaviour called the C-start escape response! This response is exceptional compared to other fleeing techniques, as they're generated by Mauthner cells: two big neurons that are unusual in both their use of chemical and electrical synapses. In essence, the C-start response causes the muscles of the fish to suddenly contract, creating a C-shape with their body, after which they can easily propel themselves away. The response is variable, which means that any predators (or prey, some predatory fish use this response to hunt as well) can't predict where their prey will move, making the chance of survival higher.
I'm a South African marine bio masters student and TA and the discovery of Coelacanths is my supervising professor's favourite to tell the undergrads, and he does so at every available opportunity. When Marjorie Courtney-Latimer recieved a call about a strange fish, she went to examine it and immediately knew this was something important. She wrote a letter to JLB Smith at Grahamstown, including this drawing.
Unfortunately, Smith was on holiday at the time, so the letter had to be rerouted, which resulted in significant delays. But the moment he saw the drawing, Smith knew that what had been discovered was important enough to pack up his holiday. Because of the delay, by the time he arrived, the fish had had to be taxidermied for preservation (cold storage was not as effective at the time). But Smith immediately recognised the Coelacanth from fossil records. This kicked off a wave of fishing as people tried to find more of these awesome fish, but it was a long time before any more were caught. Prof likes to use this story to illustrate the importance of being able to pick the most important features of a fish when drawing. I just think its a cool story.
J.L.B. Smith – Scientist of the Day
James Leonard Brierley Smith, a South African ichthyologist usually referred to as J. L.B. Smith, was born Sep. 26, 1897.
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