Catfishes are a
diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which
resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the
heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the
second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores (species that eat
dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly
called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. Some of the smaller species, particularly the
genus Corydoras, are kept in the aquarium hobby.
In Marine parlance,
an oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the
environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of
pollution. Oil spills may be due to
releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and
wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products – the biggest example is
‘Exxon Valdez’, an oil tanker spilling barrels of crude oil. Oil spills can impact marine life and other
animals including birds.
There have been spillages
on roads ~ had earlier posted of an incident in Canada whence millions of
dollars in ‘loonies and toonies’ scattered over the Highway. In another incident in UK, the drink that
‘can give wings’ [Red bull] was spilled on
the carriageway of the southbound M6 near Blackburn, Lancashire due to a road
accident. On roads, we see so many
trucks – nearer Ports and CFS there will be movement of containers. Nearer, fishing harbours, there would be movement
of fish and other sea food, in refrigerated trucks as even dead fish would be
kept frozen to ensure that they remain good till they reach the destination for
processing. On the other hand
transportation of live fish requires oxygen for respiration and removal of the
toxic gases and by-products that accumulate.
Crustaceans are transported live in wet packages using wet sawdust or
other ways to keep the atmosphere surrounding the live animals humid and cool.
Greedo is a
fictional character from the Star Wars universe. Greedo appears in Star Wars as a Rodian bounty
hunter working for Jabba the Hutt. Jabba hires him to capture Han Solo, who
lost the Hutt'scargo during a smuggling assignment. Greedo tracks his target to
the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine, where Han shoots him dead with a concealed
blaster. Greedo also appears in the 2010
Star Wars. If this new species of
catfish looks familiar, don’t be surprised—Peckoltia greedoiis is named after Star Wars bounty hunter Greedo.
Researchers
discovered the new species of catfish in 1998 in Brazil, but it had been catalogued
as an existing species until 2014, CNN reports. When it came time to name the
unidentified fish, they noted Peckoltia greedoi‘s uncanny likeness to the Star
Wars Episode IV: A New Hope character. According to Biological Sciences
Professor, the whole package evoked
Greedo and in particular the eyes and the underslung mouth.
MailOnline reports
of seven tons of spillage of catfish on Chinese highway after door of the truck
popped open when driven over a bump.
That reportedly occurred in Kaili, in the Guizhou province of China. Fire crews and local residents joined forces
to clear up the slippery mess, using hoses to keep the fish wet while they were
painstakingly collected in buckets before being transferred into the scoop of a
passing digger and then back into the truck.
Amazingly, the whole 6,800kg mess was cleared in under two hours,
according to People's Daily Online.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
20th Mar 2015.
