Strange fish-alligator surprised villagers in Phuket

Strange fish-alligator surprised villagers in Phuket

www.youtube.com

A strange looking fish surprised local villagers in Phuket.

This peculiar looking fish - a mix between a fresh water cat fish and an alligator or crocodile – was caught by a Nareuphol Sa-Nguannam in the Chalong area. The fish is one metre long and weighs around 20 kilograms. Nareuphol caught the fish while fishing in a local pond with his fishing rod. He said he was surprised to see that the fish looks like cat fish and alligator and notified the fisheries office to pick it up as he is concerned about the fish’s safety if it stays in the pond.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I have never seen this fish before. I could not find too much information about it here in Thailand.

Can anybody help me out with this? Is it a new fish never before seen or just not seen here before by the locals?

It looks quite vicious in the video!

Also looks prehistoric looking to me however I know very little about fish!



www.youtube.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Very Cool fish.
I hope to hear more about it here.
S&F
Thanks

It's an alligator gar, or possibly some other species of gar. But it's definately an ordinary gar fish. Look up "gar" in Google Images and it looks identical.

They inhabit sluggish pools and backwaters or large rivers, bayous, and lakes. They are rarely found in brackish or saltwater, but are more adaptable to the latter than are other gars. In February 2007, a 1.5-foot alligator gar was found roaming far in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, when the city was hit by a major flood (see External Links below). In January 2008, a 3-kg gator gar was found by fishermen in Bera, Pahang (East Coast State of Malaysia), when it was caught entangled in a fishing net.

Source:en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Yarcofin


Its a freshwater gar (Xenentodon cancila ). Native to Thailand.

Great thanks for the info!

I watched some guy fishing for them in the US (Texas?)on Monster Quest on Nat Geo...huge frightening things!

This is a scary quote....


Xenentodon cancila has been said to be able to launch itself out of the water with such force that it can kill a human, though some ichthyologists say that this is unlikely.[1] They are certainly capable of biting.[1]

haha i just think the name sounds funny

The town is named... Phuket?

Originally posted by baconvein
The town is named... Phuket?

lol yeah



thats awesome

Originally posted by baconvein
... Phuket?

yeah that's what i said halfway through the vid when i realized it's just an ordinary gar... and clicked off the browser tab.

-

[edit on 3-11-2008 by prevenge]

Yeah, the video was not very satisfying, but the name of the town made me actually lol.

Gar are pretty gnarly looking fish. Was kyaking at a spring time where a bunch of them congregated a few years ago, many of them were at least half as long as my kayak or more.
Wicked teeth to.
As for the town name...

Head on, it looks a lot like my former son-in-law.

Stupid, &%##ing !*%%^ of $*#@!

Now that I can see the video at home...
God that lady/news agency was retarded.

I went fishing the other day at my local pond and caught something that looked like a cross between a green-haired bigfoot and a bluegill.

I had the news crews out, a youtube video made and everything until someone told me I must have just dragged that poor bluegill through the moss in the water when I landed him.

[EDIT] Well then POO-KET-ALL!

[edit on 6-11-2008 by CreeWolf]

Phuket is pronounced poo ket not F**k it !

reply to post by muddyhoop


yeah that would be an alligator gar im pretty positive on that