I do believe I received a private e-mail from Prince Ak-ba'al himself the other day! I was so completely overwhelmed with feeling, I couldn't bring myself to reply for fear I would misstep in my etiquette...
what kind of Congo fish spread leaves out Polypterus?
Thank you, RW, for having the guts to go against "political correctness" by referring to Africa by its old nickname -- "The Dark Continent."
Nowadays, young people don't realize that that term was not racially derived, but rather a reflection of the fact that, for so long, the interior of Africa was almost inaccessible and therefore unknown ("dark").
Nowadays, there's a new and good reason to use the term -- the fact that, compared to much of the rest of the world, Africa is about 99% "dark" at night, when seen from space. Have a gander at this photo, to see what I mean.
Thanks, John. I've always liked the name The Dark Continent. It speaks of mystery and the unknown (quite literally).
Thank link is visual proof, too. :)
May 09, 2008
Anonymous said...
The ones with the long snouts are adorable. <3
May 12, 2008
The Dark Continent is the home of many mysteries and has long held the world's imagination. Among its many wonders are its rivers, including the Nile, the Niger, and, of course, the Congo. Other wonders include the naked mole-rat, mummy curses, and an abundance of expatriated bankers and politicians who need my help in securing their millions of dollars.
The Congo is so large that it quite literally divides the biosphere in half. For instance: to the north live the chimps, to the south the bonobos. Not much cross-pollination of species happens across the Congo. And the fish below might be the reason.
The Congo is the watery home to an incredible array of scaly critters (I've posted a couple times on the tiger fish all ready). Feel free to click on the image below to get a better look at some of the Congo's denizens. Of particular note is the Skeletonfish in the middle of the photo, which hearkens back to those mummy curses I was talking about.
9 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI used to own one of those!
Most of those fish are Mormyrids, some of the coolest fish on EARTH!!
Another jewel of Africa, but not from the Congo (I don't think) is the electric catfish, which I also used to own.
And don't forget the lungfish!!
May 08, 2008
I do believe I received a private e-mail from Prince Ak-ba'al himself the other day! I was so completely overwhelmed with feeling, I couldn't bring myself to reply for fear I would misstep in my etiquette...
what kind of Congo fish spread leaves out Polypterus?
May 08, 2008
So true, Morgan! I have six Polypterids myself, and several tshirts with pictures of them. Do you have any?
May 08, 2008
soo..the thing in the middle-it's not just a skeleton? Want HOVERTEXT! I need to know what in God's name these things are called!
May 09, 2008
Anon, the ones w/ the long snouts, including the skeleton, are Mormyrids: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormyrid
May 09, 2008
Ak'ba-al -- you're so lucky, Morgan!
May 09, 2008
Thank you, RW, for having the guts to go against "political correctness" by referring to Africa by its old nickname -- "The Dark Continent."
Nowadays, young people don't realize that that term was not racially derived, but rather a reflection of the fact that, for so long, the interior of Africa was almost inaccessible and therefore unknown ("dark").
Nowadays, there's a new and good reason to use the term -- the fact that, compared to much of the rest of the world, Africa is about 99% "dark" at night, when seen from space. Have a gander at this photo, to see what I mean.
John
May 09, 2008
Thanks, John. I've always liked the name The Dark Continent. It speaks of mystery and the unknown (quite literally).
Thank link is visual proof, too. :)
May 09, 2008
The ones with the long snouts are adorable. <3
May 12, 2008