Bizarre Wood-Eating Catfish Discovered in Amazon


Posted on October 6th, 2010 in Animal | 2 Comments » |

A new bizarre type of alien-like catfish has been discovered in the Amazon rain forest. The picture above shows a strange armored, wood-eating catfish feeding on a fallen tree in the Santa Ana River in Peru.

According to National Geographic, “the so-called suckermouth armored catfish species use their unique teeth to scrape organic material from the surfaces of submerged wood. But the new, as yet unnamed, species is among the dozen or so catfish species known to actually ingest wood.” Regardless, the wood-eating catfish have been known to only digest organic material—such as algae, microscopic plants, animals, and other debris. Scientists are mind-boggled with how this new type of catfish absorb woods into its bodies. Many researcher think that the wood must contain some kind of a super microbes that assist the fish with digesting the wood.

Do you guys have any insight to this bizarre discoveries? How did the fish got it’s armor? How will it taste on your plate? Share your thoughts in the commentary below.

Linky via [nationalgeographic]

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2 Responses to “Bizarre Wood-Eating Catfish Discovered in Amazon”

  1. Raul Gomez says:
    2010/10/06 at 1:48 PM

    I tasted one before and it doesn’t taste too good. Their meat is mild with a bit of tangy taste to it. Possibly has to do with the woods they ate.

    ReplyReply
  2. man hair loss says:
    2011/05/19 at 1:48 AM

    it actually looks good compared to some that’s found somewhere in the world…

    ReplyReply

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