Man Mistakes Real Sharks for Bala Sharks
I can’t tell. So I had to leave him a comment.
For the non-fish nerds out there, the animal in the photo is an actual shark, probably a blacktip shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus. The caption says that he “used to sell them in a pet show about an inch long.”
No, he didn’t.
There is indeed a freshwater fish called a Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, but a quick glance at one will tell anyone that they are not real sharks:
Sharks are in the class Chondricthyes. Bala sharks are in the class Actinopterygii. They are not very closely related at all.
Sometimes I go around the internet correcting strangers’ fish mistakes. So sue me.
EDIT: For some reason, the link above now goes to a different photo. I’ll just fix that by showing the original photo here:
Stumble it!
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 am
I wish I had the balls to.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:50 am
Oh, you!
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:59 am
Tsk tsk… take the sliver from….
Blacktip reef sharks are C. melanopterus C. limbatus is a blacktip shark
(and no, I didn’t know that offhand… google before you rant ;))
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:02 am
Oops. I actually meant blacktip shark. I did google it! I had the scientific name right, but the common name wrong.
At least, I think it’s C. limbatus. What do you think?
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:03 am
Fixed! I need to put you on my payroll.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
In the guy’s defense, there are some fish that do go from fresh to salt water during their lives. There are also fish with more dramatic metamorphoses that what would have to have happened for him to be correct.
That being said, it both amuses and disappoints me that people know so little about the non-human world around them. When I was a zookeeper we got great laughs at the ridiculous questions some of our visitors would ask, but would do all we could to teach them the facts. That’s what we were there for after all.
Mistaking the two fish above for being the same is nowhere near as bad as seeing a gorilla sitting on a large boomer ball and asking the attending keeper, in all seriousness, “When is the gorilla egg going to hatch?”
My guess is that when the guy was selling bala sharks, he assumed that they all grew up to be Jaws look-alikes. They are called sharks after all. I really dislike many common names for species for this exact reason. They are ambiguous, misleading, and outdated.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:11 am
“In the guy’s defense, there are some fish that do go from fresh to salt water during their lives. There are also fish with more dramatic metamorphoses that what would have to have happened for him to be correct.”
Yeah, but for some reason I expect everyone to know the difference between bony and cartiliginous fishes. I know that’s unrealistic. I also expect that if someone owns an animal, they should know something about it. As far as I’m concerned, that’s unacceptable.
But gorilla eggs???? How old was this person?
When I volunteered at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, we had carts with animal related items on it. I showed a little kid an ostrich egg, and asked him what animal he thought laid it. He guessed a tiger. It was cute.
And speaking of common names, ugh. I think it’s pet shops that cause most of the trouble in this area. My biggest pet peeve is “dinosaur eel”.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:26 am
I think that most people would be shocked to find out that some fish don’t have any bones and then assume you were talking about eels.
Gorilla Eggs: Adult. Most of the amusing/disappointing comments I heard about were from adults trying to teach(impress) their children. You’re right though, it’s cute when it’s from kids. Shameful from adults though.
Btw, how can you tell the difference between a blacktip shark and a blacktip reef shark?
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
Btw, how can you tell the difference between a blacktip shark and a blacktip reef shark?
I just compared photos on wikipedia and other places. Very scientific, I know. The picture in the wikipedia article for blacktip shark looked more like the one the guy posted. BTs seem deeper bodied than BTRs, and BTRs seem to have a blunter snout. Also, the triangle structure (don’t know what it’s called) on the top tippy top of the caudal fin on the BTR seems to be more pronounced than in the BT.
I once found a baby BT on the beach: http://www.jeffthefish.com/images/wildlife/004.jpg
Those aren’t my hands, btw.
Once, at the Aquarium of the Americas, I saw a woman point out a brittle star to her toddler and say, “Look at the octopus!”
I punched her. Hard.
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Ok, it looks like C. melanopterus to me If you look at the lower lobe of the caudal as well as the upper 1/3 of the dorsal in the picture above you’ll see solid black. It looks to me like the blacktip has much smaller melanistic patches. it also seems to me that the the blacktip reef shark may be a bit more robust-bodied.
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
After looking at other photos, especially the ones on the Shedd Aquarium website, I submit that you are probably right.
It’s a little freaky / cool that they have the same species name, but a “colored (black?) fin” is a “colored fin”.
June 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
“There is indeed a freshwater fish called a Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, but a quick glance at one will tell anyone that they are not real sharks”
Close, but not quite. I have a pet bala shark in my aquarium and I can testify to the fact that a surprising number of people ask whether it is a real shark. lol
June 8th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
*sigh*
Poor humanity. I guess people have other priorities.
June 8th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
BTW, welcome Jonathan!