Re: NANFA-- fish sizes questioned

Robert Carillio (darterman_at_cboss.com)
Thu, 15 Aug 2002 14:49:24 -0500

I don't know if this really relates to the original post, as it just
reminded me, but I have encountered Rainbow darters that seemed to WAY over
exceed what the suggested maximum size would be in feild guides. BIG FAT
FELLAS!

Rob C.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Scharpf" <ichthos_at_charm.net>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- fish sizes questioned

> > I too am curious how the bio-guys establish maximums for non-game
> > fishes, though.
>
> Voucher specimens, I would guess.
>
> If you find a specimen that's larger than what's generally known, pickle
it,
> record collecting data, and send it off to either a taxonomic expert in
that
> particular taxa, or to the closest natural history museum that houses a
fish
> collection. Include a note that mentions that this specimen exceeds the
> largest known size.
>
> If you don't want to pickle the fish, pose the fish above a ruler and take
a
> photograph. This may not be as reliable as a voucher specimen, but
> should indicate if a species exceeds a certain size.
>
> It's not that the Peterson Field Guide -- or any other "Fishes of..."
book -- is
> wrong. It's just that it was written using the best available data.
Science is
> self-correcting. So don't be afraid to correct!
>
> Chris Scharpf
> Baltimore

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/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org