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What do you get when a fish eats a frog that ate a fish? Thanks @mjbernt and the CT scanner at the @AMNH we now know.
Thread, sources via @IFLScience: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/ct-shows-its-a-fisheatfrog-frogeatfish-world-out-there/
Thread, sources via @IFLScience: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/ct-shows-its-a-fisheatfrog-frogeatfish-world-out-there/
The lead up to Thanksgiving has revealed an alternative to the famed Turducken worth a try for anyone looking to put on an aquatic spread. The recipe, captured using CT, revealed that a fish specimen from the museum had, in life, eaten a frog who, in life, had eaten a fish.
What's more festive than a case of Inception indigestion?
The unusual Russian doll was revealed in the subsequent scans showing the skeleton of the frog in the throat of the fish, with the skeleton of a smaller fish inside the frog. The outer layer of the “Catfroginnow,” as dubbed by Gar celebrity @SolomonRDavid, is a catfish.
Eating amphibians isn’t unusual for this species, but to capture a frog still with the remains of what Bernt suspects is a cypriniform judging by the looks of the pharyngeal jaw still in its gut is quite the catch.
Computerized tomography is a medical imaging technique that combines X-rays taken from different angles. The result is images of a body, or fish, which can be layered and reviewed to provide a detailed account of what’s going on inside without ever having to cut into the sample.
CT scans of fish are a common feature in ichthyological research, and historically people have stuffed everything from sharks to the deepest fish in the ocean inside scanners, and the unique view they provide often reveals surprises.
A scan of a wrasse revealed the unfortunate fish was hiding a grim secret, as in place of its tongue sat a parasitic isopod. These crustaceans crawl into the mouths of fish and eat their tongues to make room so they can sit at the opening and wait for food. Image: @Sternarchella
Indeed, it seems fish have been found to contain all manner of strange and disgusting contents. According to a post from the Angling Trust, everything from mobile phones and money to human remains including fingers, genitals, and the body of a Nazi have been found inside fish.
I suppose, in that respect, CT scanning fish specimens is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna’ get.
