Re: NANFA-- Giant sturgeon ?

William Hoppe (whoppe_at_leadhill.net)
Wed, 26 Jun 2002 11:41:00 -0500

I should have known American Currents already had something on the subject .
The sightings seem to be in nearly fourty year cycles so it is due or past
due . Maybe the NANFA snorkle crew will luck out on the 03 Arkansas Ozark
Gathering and make the ultimate ID . I hadnt thought of the paddlefish but
it certainly could be .
BTW the Arkansas Ozarks Gatering has been set for May 17 03 . Anyone wishing
more info on the gathering let me know .
Bill Hoppe
Yellville Arkansas
A gathering of fish heads --its smelly but fun.
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Scharpf <ichthos_at_charm.net>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 10:51 AM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- Giant sturgeon ?

> > State Senate OKs refuge for Arkansas river monsters on the White River
> > Giant catfish ? This is an interesting and fun read .
> >
> > http://www.aristotle.net/~russjohn/monsters/ms3.html
>
> An item on the White River Monster appeared in Amercian Currents a few
> years ago. According to Jan Hoover and Jack Killgore, both research
> biologists at the Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Miss. (and
> NANFA members), the "monster" is either a paddlefish, a sturgeon, or a
> group of both.
>
> "Paddlefish are very sharklike, nearly scaleless, gray, with a rostrum
that
> can be pointy," Hoover said. "We are studying rostrum shape and have
> found that the paddle gets shorter, straighter and narrower as the fish
> grows, hence, it would look like a horn on a very large [fish]."
>
> Hoover adds that the foaming of the water, and the reported sizes of the
> monster, may be the result of large numbers of paddlefish basking at the
> surface, a common behavior. "Sturgeon are less likely to surface than
> paddlefish," Hoover said, "but sick, injured, stressed or dying fish may
do
> so." In addition, paddlefish are known to leap out of the water and land
on
> their sides with great force. No one knows why. One theory is that they're
> trying to dislodge parasitic lampreys. With smooth bodies, paddlefish are
> a key food source for lampreys of the genus Ichthyomyzon.
>
> The fact that paddlefish and sturgeon are infrequently taken by anglers,
> combined with the normally turbid waters of the White, may explain why
> such large fishes remain so mysterious. The declining populations of
> paddlefish and sturgeon may contribute to the mystery as well, for the
> White River monster has not been reported seen since 1971.
>
>
> Chris Scharpf
> Baltimore

--
> /"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
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"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