Paddlefish Panorama (a WHAT fish?)

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. There are two types of paddlefish in the world; Polydon spathula, the American paddlefish, and also Psephurus gladius, that inhabits the Ygantze(Chang)River, which is the: Australian paddlefish European paddlefish Mexican paddlefish Chinese paddlefish

2. Paddlefish use their long snout, also called a rostrum, to dig on the bottom for food. True False

3. Paddlefish populations in some parts of the United States are in danger for which of the following reasons: overfishing to obtain their roe, known as American caviar pollution of the waters in which they live construction of dams that obstruct their traditional spawning routes all of these

4. So, what DOES a paddlefish use its rostrum (snout) for, anyway? to scare away scuba divers who dive in the quarries the to attack other fish for males to joust one another during spawning, when in competition to act as a type of underwater airplane wing that will keep the fish from sinking as it continually swims mid-water and to sense plankton-rich areas

5. Since they are closely related to sturgeon, American paddlefish are also known as "_______________" sturgeon. pointybill forkbill spoonbill flatbill

6. Paddlefish are the most ancient surviving animal species in North America. True False

7. In Spanish, paddlefish are called "pez espátula", which could be literally translated as: _________ fish. big-nosed shovel-nosed spoon spatula-nosed

8. Paddlefish do not have scales as do most fish; they are a mostly cartilaginous fish, similar in that respect to sharks. Cartilaginous means: made of white meat made mostly of cartilage, not bone having black eggs having a deeply forked tail fin

9. Polydon spathula can be found in 22 of the USA's 50 states (and was noted in 4 other states in the past) and can weigh anywhere from 60-140 lbs (or more!) with lengths of over 5 feet. It is, therefore, America's largest freshwater fish. True False

10. As you've noticed, paddlefish are definitely odd creatures. Which of the following facts about them is so odd it is NOT true? paddlefish have been observed to move more than 2,000 miles through a river system paddlefish cannot be fished by the traditional method using a hook paddlefish have an average lifespan of 80 years paddlefish are primitive Chondrostian rays, that is, they evolved from the ray branch of finned fishes