I am sorry Jim. I was wrong. I hadn't read the article in several years. The
fish didn't come from Africa it came from Asia.
Other than that, my facts about this fish are correct. Here is what Scientific
American said,
"An air-breathing 'walking' catfish that comes from Asia has apparently
established itself in Florida. Although the state normally cherishes
visitors, the catfish are unwelcome: they are well adapted to the climate and
to both fresh and brackish waterways, and they are multiplying fast; they are
aggressive and voracious; they can move overland, searching out new bodies of
water and thus extending their habitat with exceptional facility and speed."
"Suffering Catfish!" Scientific American, January 1969, P. 50
They go on to say
"They looked like catfish but they could obviously survive for long
periods out of water; they propelled themselves by their fins on land, even
climbing uphill; there was a story that one had attacked a dog. The fish were
soon identified as belonging to the genus Clarias, various species of which
are natives of South Asia and Africa.[this is why I remembered Africa--grm].
In Clarias the gills are modified; air chambers extend up into the skull, each
occupied by a 'respiratory tree' that is richly vascularized for the exchange
of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the fish's blood. The
auxiliary breathing organ enables the fish to stay out of water for 12 hours
or more." ibid p. 50
This sounds like a future candidate for the transitional form between fish and
a new form of amphibians. So now that there are modern examples of fish in
transition, who use their fins as legs and have auxiliary breathing apparatus,
are you yet willing to admit that the original transition from fish to
amphibian might be correct?
glenn
Foundation,Fall and Flood
http://members.gnn.com/GRMorton/dmd.htm
glenn
Foundation,Fall and Flood
http://members.gnn.com/GRMorton/dmd.htm