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Re: NFC: Re: Fw: sheep's head
Sounds like a Bowfin to me...but I've never seen one so I don't know.
Luke
On Mon, 14 May 2001, Larry wrote:
> A "sheep's head" looks basically like a very large convict. Did the fish
> resemble a convict at all? Cichlid or sunfish shape, dark colors, maybe
> vertical black stripes with silver backdrop. I have only heard of sheep
> head in salt water...the Gulf is full of them. They have teeth that look
> like human teeth (well...sheep teeth which is how they got the name) that I
> believe if for eating crustations and barnacles. I've seen them school with
> Redfish by the hundreds...unfortunately they wouldn't bite on anything while
> schooling like that. I'd be surprised if a fish that schools with Redfish
> would care for it's young (since Redfish will eat anything that fits in its
> mouth alive or dead).
>
> The eye and whiskers don't make sense then in the case of a sheep head.
> Redfish however do have a false eye and possibly very short whiskers if I
> can remember right. But they have a light colored body, reddish towards the
> top. They live in salt and brackish water and get VERY large. They're a
> very aggressive gamefish as well. Aggressive gamefish don't typically care
> for their young do they? I don't know.
>
> Probably didn't help a bit...
> Larry
>
> > I'm helping with amphibian research in Ward Marsh which is next to the
> > Poultney River which feeds into Lake Champlain in the state of Vermont.
> > Two days ago I was walking along the edge of the marsh after collecting
> > data on amphibians when I saw a large dark mass near the shore. When I
> > got closer I saw that it was a large group of fry that where swimming in
> > a protective mass. There might have been a thousand of them or at least
> > hundreds. I then notice that there was a large fish that was with
> > them. Mother? Father? This fish was over 2 feet long and had a blunt
> > head with short whiskers which she pointed ahead of her. There was a
> > large false eye on her tail and the pectoral fins where a wonderful neon
> > powder bluish color. I don't notice much if any dorsal fin. The young
> > swam around and under her for protection. The mother didn't wish to
> > swim into deeper water, I would guess since there was more danger of
> > perdition in that location. Might you know what this fish is? I was
> > told that a local name for it was Sheep's Head.
> >
> > David Cunningham
>
>
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