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July 5, 2016
My New Op-Ed: A Fish Called Ernest
Courtesy, ANSP Archives Collection 707
While I was visiting Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences earlier this year to do research on another subject, Mark Sabaj Perez, the academy's Interim Curator of Fishes, showed me a pair of extraordinary fish — one caught by Ernest Hemingway and the other named for him.
When I discovered that the fish that was named for Hemingway — the Spinycheek Scorpionfish –had been caught off Cape May, I knew I had to write about it.
Here is a little more background from Mark, who describes the fish as "an ominous fish with its large mouth and spiny head."
"Scorpionfish include many of the world’s most venomous (and attractive) species like the lionfish. The spiny cheek has only mildly venomous dorsal-fin spines. It is found along the coast of eastern North America from New Jersey to the Yucatan Peninsula as well as the Bahamas and Cuba."
The article is on the Op-Ed page of The Record today. A link to the text is here.
Courtesy, ANSP Archives Collection 197
2 comments
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This was great fun to read! I loved the descriptive, colorful words and phrases along with the thought of Hemingway and his 75 minute long marlin tug of war. What a life he must have lived! A pirate could only aspire to emulate him.
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Love it
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2 comments
Marianne Herrmann
This was great fun to read! I loved the descriptive, colorful words and phrases along with the thought of Hemingway and his 75 minute long marlin tug of war. What a life he must have lived! A pirate could only aspire to emulate him.
Sally
Love it