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An animal discovery and many questions: What species is the discovery at a recycling center? Users have some spectacular theories.
Munich – A lot of things turn up at a recycling center that puzzle the employees, among all the things that people no longer need. This case involves an animal carcass that found its way onto the Internet via a Facebook post.
Facebook user turns to biologists Benecke with a photo of fish
Specifically, a user turned to Dr. Mark Benecke. This person probably receives an above-average number of photos of dead animals. No wonder, because he is an expert in the field of forensic biology. With his expertise, he often helps solve criminal cases.
According to his website, the Cologne scientist works internationally in the field of scientific forensics. That's why the user was hoping for an answer to her riddle: that of a dead fish. A hedgehog was recently luckier than the fish because the animal was saved by the fire department with the help of olive oil.
The user on Facebook writes: “Hello Dr. Benecke, I work at a recycling center and made a little discovery in a wire mesh box (exchanged from a customer).” Maybe the expert could help with the identification?
Users discuss dead fish on Facebook – a sturgeon? “Definitely not”
The discussion starts immediately. The biologist's followers give their tips in the comments. “I'll throw the linen catfish from the aquarium into the race. In any case, it reminds me a lot of the two in my aquarium at home,” writes one user. Another user suggests a “small sturgeon,” but other users disagree: “Definitely not.” Sturgeons have “long noses.”
One user has a different theory: “My first thought was a coral catfish from the genus Panaque (very beautiful animals, but they can get quite large), because of the slightly rising, yet quite high-backed front body.” But he admits: “With that one Only an ichtyologist can help with the exact determination.”
Most users agree on the type: a “stone picker”
But the winner seems to be the “stone picker”. “As a former crab fisherman, I also claim that it is a stone picker.” The stone picker (Agonus cataphractus) is a bottom-dwelling bony fish that is native to the northeastern Atlantic, the North Sea and the southern Baltic Sea. The photos actually bear a strong resemblance to this species.
Another user agrees: “I would also say stone picker! I had one like that when I was a child.” Another user also believes in this species: “I also think it’s a stone picker. Either as bycatch from the crab fishery or, if very old, purchased as a souvenir somewhere on the coast.”
Incidentally, Benecke himself does not comment and does not give any tips. IPPEN.MEDIA asked the Leibniz Institute for the analysis of biodiversity change in the field of ichthyology (fish) for clarification, and indeed: “The images show a stone picker, Agonus cataphractus,” confirms the curator of ichthyology, Fabian Herder.
“Goault larva” – Users guess fantasy creatures
Of course, some bizarre tips are also mentioned; after all, the discussion takes place on the Internet. A “sand trout from Arakis” is called in reference to the novel and film “Dune” by Frank Herbert, also like a “Goault larva” (“Stargate”). “Frankenfish,” writes one user, referring to the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. “I think it’s an alien,” another user suspects.
Nature always presents puzzles. After 23 years of searching, speleologists discovered a mysterious underground river near Trieste just before Easter that comes from another country. (cgsc)
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