Porichthys Notatus: The fish that sings!
Q. What is the name of the singing fish found in San Francisco Bay?- Published on 27 Sep 16a. Porichthys Notatus
b. Midshipsman fish
c. Both of the above
d. Neither of the above
ANSWER: Porichthys Notatus
At San Francisco Bat, residents in houseboats are enchanted by the humming of the Porichthys Notatus, fish that sing.
- The strange singing is from male midshipman fishes while the female of the species only gruts
- What makes these noises are the swim bidders that seem like a kazoo chorus or a swarm of droning bees
- These fish only sing at night
- Researchers at Cornell University found that a possible reason why these fish sing at that time is because of the hormone melatonin
- Melatonin secretion is thought to help regulate body clocks, and also regulate the output of the neural networks in the brain to control distinct components of behaviour
- Depending on whether the species are nocturnal or diurnal, the hormone affects differently
- Scientists tested that midshipman fish sang at night and hen there was light, they never sang at all
- The scientists then fed them melatonin and this caused the singing to happen even during sunlight
