tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post8476937717960761408..comments2024-01-05T05:02:20.353+00:00Comments on CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: LINDSAY SELBY: Breeding giant fish in ThailandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-7698438403300229202009-12-04T19:28:02.705+00:002009-12-04T19:28:02.705+00:00Wow, if those are found in the US, then i think we...Wow, if those are found in the US, then i think we have an ID for many US "lake monsters", as well as out-of-place "alligators".<br /><br />The etymology's interesting too - was the great auk called a "spear-bird" because it was hunted with spears, or because there was something "spear-like" about it (its bill, perhaps)? If the latter, you would think that the name would have been more logically applied to a stork or heron, or maybe even something like a gannet...<br /><br />Also, could "gar" be related, via some Indo-European root, to "gharial"?stevethehydrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18334234855643025449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-72671150764403592552009-12-04T13:19:11.375+00:002009-12-04T13:19:11.375+00:00I saw this as part of a documentary about giant fi...I saw this as part of a documentary about giant fish.<br /><br />Believe it or not, some of the most popular wildlife shows in the US right now are about giant fish.<br /><br />Alligator gar are massive animals. Their skulls even look like those of an alligator (or some bizarre crocodilian): http://www.mdwfp.com/ImageUploads%5CFW227%5Cgator%20gar%20web%202.JPG<br /><br />We've got the much smaller gar called the longnose gar.<br /><br />These look like an unholy union between a gharial and a pike: http://www.tnfish.org/PhotoGalleryFish_TWRA/FishPhotoGallery_TWRA/pages/LongnoseGarTeethNorrisNegus_jpg.htm<br /><br />The longnose species is the first one European came across. Gar, garfish, or garpike is the archaic name for the freshwater needlefish of Asia. It looks a lot like a longnose gar: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/needlefish.php<br /><br />Gar is an archaic English word that means spear. I suppose it is related to the Old Norse and Icelandic word for the Great Auk, which is geirfugl ("spear bird"). In English, this term has been garefowl (which means roughly the same thing).Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.com