Crocodile Fish Found in Gonyeli Reservoir

North Cyprus News - Crocodile Fish
Crocodile Fish

The remains  of  an ‘Alligator gar’ (Crocodile fish) was found in the Gönyeli reservoir. The fish is mainly native to Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand and is not a species native to North Cyprus .

 Tashkent Nature Park teams took the body of the fish to the centre and examined the remains..

The director of Tashkent Nature Park Kemal Basat said, “There are two different possibilities for the appearance of this crocodile fish which is 1.12 metres in length. Either this fish has been living in the reservoir for a long time or it was thrown into the reservoir and it died because it could not survive there.

Our specialists have started investigations. If there are remains of fish living in Gönyeli reservoir in the stomach, it means that it has lived there for a long time. If the contents of the stomach are empty, it means that it was thrown into the water recently and was unable to feed there, so it died. ”

Saying that the fish in question was found  in Thailand and sold to the world as goldfish, Kemal Basat stated that this fish was imported illegally without the permission of the Veterinary Office.

North Cyprus News - Alligator Gar
Alligator Gar

On first examination,, it was determined that the fish was an Atractosteus spatula type crocodile fish. Although this species can reach 1.8 meters and 45 kilograms in general and maximum 3 meters and 160 kilograms, this species can be imported to our country as a goldfish with the permission of the Veterinary Office.

Derviş Çavuşoğlu, a seafood engineer at the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute, said that fish is a very hardy species and it takes about 10 years to reach this size.

Ulas Seherlioglu, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Specialist, said in his statement that crocodile fish, which is a species that hunts by lurking, generally feeds on other fish, but there are records that they consume water fowl and other mammals in other parts of the world.

Although it is thought that the fish could not adapt and died after being left in the water by unscrupulous people recently, there is also the possibility that it had been living there for a long time. In order to collect information on this subject, a necropsy will be performed on the fish on Monday and the contents of the stomach in particular will be examined.

The wildlife centre has asked the public not to abandon the water turtles, land turtles, birds and fish species formerly kept at home. This is bad practice that can have very bad consequences. In such cases and when you see an animal that does not belong in nature, please call the Alo 1190 Wildlife Support Line. ”

What is a Crocodile Fish?

North Cyprus News- alligator-gar-1
Crocodile fish (Atractosteus spatula)

Crocodile fish (Atractosteus spatula) is a type of bony fish that lives in the central and southern states of the USA, northern and central Mexico. They can survive in large lakes, stagnant river branches, stagnant waters, ponds, rivers or fresh and brackish waters, but they prefer larger rivers and flood basins. Carnivores should be fed with live feed. The Crocodile fish is a hunter that hunts small fish and crustaceans by ambushing. The fish that is overly aggressive is hungry and swallows all that can fit in the mouth. A significant number of fish come together to spawn in nature in the spring months and tend to move to temporary submerged areas or basins. A female can spawn simultaneously with multiple males.

Due to its large size, it is not suitable for aquariums at home and can actually live more than 50 years. There are also several hybrid crocodile fish species.

Although they may look ferocious, alligator gars pose no threat to humans and there are no known attacks on people. Its eggs, however, are poisonous and could be harmful if eaten by other animals and humans.

Kibris News Agency

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