Bichir: Through the Ages

 

 

"Author of The Bichir Handbook, Joshua Pickett takes us on a journey into the deep past. Long before humans roamed the earth, there were bichirs…"


As seen in Amazonas, July/August 2021. Read the full article here.

 


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What species are Koi Carp?

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♪ Scales 29 lateral, with markings unnatural; that's Amur-ay ♪ Joshua Pickett   Adorned in sunset red daubs; peppered with dalmation-esque speckling; shiny, steel blue scales; streaked in vibrant orange; or completely piebald—these ornated fish come in a wild assortment of markings and colours that would've made the likes of even Vivienne Westwood envious. To the Japanese, they're called Nishikigoi, to species competition organisers, they're known as a nightmare, and to you and me, they're the kicky koi carp!   One of the oldest depictions of Koi Carp, illustrated around the time the "modern" strains were first being selectively bred. Utagawa Hiroshige, 1840-42. Koi weren't always like this, however, and no doubt most people know they are selectively bred "ornamental" fish, but what species are they exactly? For a long time, many of us have assumed they are just domesticated Common Carp ( C...
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Shore Clingfish vs Cornish Sucker

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Updated 17th March 2025, to include my own catches. A Cornish Sucker ( Lepadogaster purpurea ) I caught in a rockpool in Falmouth, 15 March 2025. As with virtually every contemporary tale of misidentification, it starts with a "Google said"; two words which send a chill down my spine every time I hear or read them. What may feel like a comfort blanket of confirmation bias to some, can mean an investment of hours for science communicators, who often need to access (sometimes quite obscure or costly) papers or surveys to effectively relay the relevant information over, and then summarise why the Google algorithm frequently pushes incorrect or dated material, even from reputable sources, to the top of the search. Sci-comm is generally a rewarding experience, as with every delve into a study, we learn more and become better communicators; though, in this "Age of Information", every peer-reviewed paper is countered with a more popular webpage lacking in any references. I...
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2024 Species Tally

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  2024 has been a great year! I picked up where I left off in 2023 with light rock fishing (LRF), accounting for most of my fishing, though I didn’t limit myself, and did some boat charters, shore fishing with bait, and went back to freshwater to tick off some species I had not yet caught. Below is a tally of all the rod and line species I've ticked off this year... All photos/icons are my own catches     #1 - Flounder (Platyichthys flesus) Keen to start off the 2024 tally, I headed over to Charlestown for a couple of hours on New Year's Day for the ever-so-reliable Flounder, which I had some sucess on a few days prior. The conditions weren't really in my favour this time, being right in the middle of the day, and during a bout of hellish rain; though after some persistence, I finally hooked one, on what has fast become one of my favourite lures, the Ecogear Aqua Shirasu. #2 - Painted Goby (Pomatoschistus pictus)   A stunning January morning in P...
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The British Bullhead; a case of mistaken identity?

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  *Please note, this is the short version of the article, which excludes discussion around the Cottus revision, their migration history, and the reasons why they are surrounded with misinformation. The full version was published here , on CE Fish Essentials*  The northern branch of Cottus perifretum from the River Wharfe, Yorkshire © max-pics, iNaturalist, 2024   For many years, the classification of the freshwater bullhead has been a topic of much confusion. So what species do we have in Britain, and how did they get here? Growing up along the river Avon, before I’d ever considered fishing with rod and line, as all young children should, I explored! I can recall many fond memories of walking along the margins with a little dip net, catching Three-Spined Stickleback, Minnows, and tadpoles; turning up stones in chalk streams, clutching Stone Loach and prickly Bullhead by hand; and even the using the age-old jam-jar-tied-to-string-with-a-chunk-of-bread-inside tec...
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The Big Lerf Fundraiser & Weekender 2024

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A rough result from a really rough day in Weymouth with Lee. We got up early and headed up together, both with certain goals in mind. Immediately, we found fishing to be tough! Very little was coming out on unscented, and we suspected that the hammering Weymouth got in the lead up days to the event, left many fish bite-shy. Though reliably we had plague levels of Pouting; at least 100 caught by myself alone. The extremely heavy rain ended up defeating us, as it had got underneath our waterproofs, so we headed home a couple of hours early. FUNDRAISER TALLY STATUS #1 Pouting Trisopterus luscus Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #2 Pollack Pollachius pollachius Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #3 Corkwing wrasse Symphodus melops Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #4 Black goby Gobius niger Soft Isome pink 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #5 Rock goby Gobius paganellus Soft Isome pink 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth Completely soaked through, this was mine and Lee's view for much of the day.   I di...
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The Polypterids of Cameroon

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    A Polypteridae feature by Joshua Pickett in the new book Freshwater Fishes of Cameroon by Michel Keijman, launched in October 2023. The book, also contains contributions from The Bichir Handbook collaborator Zuzana Musilová, provides a comprehensive overview of a large number of freshwater fishes found in Cameroon. It contains more than 200 pages on cichlids alone, but it will also showcase and cover Mormyrids, all the Killis from Cameroon and many more fish genera. Furthermore, there will also be a chapter dealing with aquatic plants.  *Be aware, images of Polypterus delhezi were mistakenly used by the book's author for P. endlicherii.    
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A long [sting]way away!

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A long [sting]way away! Not much beats a road trip with a good mate… except if it’s a fishing road trip! Cal popped me a message to ask if I wanted to join him on a mission up country to target stingray. Let’s be honest, it took no convincing. I was completely down for this! With just four species in mind (and a few bonus species), we covered over 530 miles within 14 hours of driving! Armed with 3lb of ragworm from Reefers Fishing Tackle , we had initially planned to do the trip in a day, but upon realising it didn’t leave much time for fishing, we opted to stay overnight on a beach with the rods out, and head home the next day.  In the early hours of Saturday, Cal picks me up on the way, and we make the 2 hour drive to the first stop, Brixham, a location I had stayed before on holiday, but never fished. We both knew some spots for the Rockcook Wrasse, so after finding some parking, we moved over to the mark, with our LRF gear; though we weren’t fishing what I conside...
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2022 Species Tally

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While 2022 was far from a yearly species hunt, it marked a renewed interest in angling. I had shattered my clavicle in a cycling accident late the previous Summer, so had spent weeks awaiting surgery, with nothing to do but obsess over specimen carp fishing. I used to do a lot of day ticket angling on just one complex, now I wanted to branch out! I refreshed my tackle box, bought a bivvy and bedchair, and was ready to get out in the new year, once I was recovered. All photos/icons are my own catches #1a - European/King [Mirror] Carp (Cyprinus carpio var.“Specularis”) PB For the longest time, my personal best was 14lb, something I was content with, as it matched my dad's PB, but I had been craving a 20lb carp. The venue I always fished no longer produces carp of this size, so I decide to try out a little known private lake. The anglers I spoke to said it's a difficult lake to jump onto, having taken them two or three sessions before they've been able to land a fish. Eventua...
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2023 Species Tally

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  2023 was the year of trying new techniques! I kicked off the year quite late (March) with a little carp fishing, followed by targeting the catfish. Then in June, my fishing mates started getting back into their kayaking, so I borrowed a colleagues kayak to test the water, and got hooked! Ended up buying my own for the next session; a great introduction to sea fishing, but catching some unusual species on my first outing, ended up introducing me to light rock fishing in September — which would go on to dominate the rest of my fishing this year. All photos/icons are my own catches #1 - European/King Carp (Cyprinus carpio) It seems to be a tradition now , where for my birthday, I get taken to a carp fishery for 48 hours. This time it was with Becca and Huw , and I made the fatal mistake of setting my bivvy up on the grass; within hours, there was mud everywhere! Not to mention it was a cold and wet March, and Huw was masterfully outfishing me. I managed to save a blank though with...
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The Bullhead In Britain: a small fish with an identity problem

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    "The Bullhead is a small benthic freshwater fish. The species shown to be present in Britain, Cottus perifretum , has suffered a history of misrecognition. Everard and Pickett describe the natural history, ecology and taxonomy of the Bullhead in Britain and highlight the consequent problems of its continued misidentification. " As seen in British Wildlife , 36.4, February 2025. Read the full article here .    
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Fishédex | Lifetime Species List (66)