The following photograph-rich article is about the Dragon Gate Carp of the Dragon Gate waterfall in China. This article also features unique traditional popular culture associated with the Dragon Gate Carp in China and Japan.  In addition, varieties of dragon fish and horned fish around the world are featured here. Some of such freaks of nature and/or gaffs (rogue taxidermy artworks) have been featured at sideshows here in America for over a century. This manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, noted art critic and book author in New York City, as told by Takeshi Yamada. Yamada is one of the most active artists in New York City and has had over 400 fine art exhibitions internationally.

TAKESHI YAMADA

ON

DRAGON FISH & HORNED FISH

Part 2

Real Horned Fish

The universe is full of real monsters and marvels. Some of the creatures we now “know” are even more remarkable and extraordinary than the truly monstrous ones illustrated in the scientific books and zoological encyclopedia in the 16th century in Italy.

Gleanings of natural history, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, etc
 Chap. LXXIV. Pla. 284. The horned fish; and the sea scorpion, pp. 158-160

Edwards, George, 1694-1773. Published in 1760

In America, some of the unspecified horned fish species are referred as “fishalope” by some people. This is due to its physical resemblance to the very popular rogue/freak taxidermy of the mythic horned rabbit shown at circus sideshows at midways -- Jackalope. 

Note: The word “fishalope” has not been recruited in the carny or sideshow lingo yet.

Detail of “Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food: Mountain Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada, 2004

Note: For more information about Jackalope, read a series of articles entitled “Takeshi Yamada on Art of Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada.

http://www.sideshowworld.com/TYJackalop-1.html

http://www.sideshowworld.com/TYJackalop-2.html

http://www.sideshowworld.com/TYJackalop-3.html

http://www.sideshowworld.com/TYJackalop-4.html

Following are REAL living and breathing horned fish today. These animals have some kind of horn and/or spikes protruding from their heads and/or bodies. Some of the horned fish are quite attractive and charming, and they are even sold at many pet shops and novelty stores in the United States and other countries.  

Cowfish:

Cowfish such as Lactoria cornuta is the most well known of the boxfish and can be seen in almost every public aquarium including the New York Aquarium near the Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York. The other common names of this fish are Longhorn Cowfish and Long-horned Cowfish. This fish is easily recognized by the horns on the forehead and the bottom rear of the body. These horns make them hard for predators to swallow. In addition, their flesh is poisonous and would not make for a very good meal. If overly harassed or stressed, this pet fish in your aquarium can release a toxic substance (ostracitoxin) and can poison your tank.

Cow and Cowfish

Note: The Sea Cow is a completely different animal. They do not have any horns. The cute baby of this animal can be seen today at New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York.

(left) Sea Cow. This species resembles the one featured in the “real” 16th century Academic

zoological encyclopedia in European countries. (www.Worth1000.com)  Digital illustration.

(right) The “real” Sea Cow or Dugong of today. (photo by Roberto Sozzani)

Horned Blenny (Parablennius intermedius): The Horned Blenny has a broad blunt snout, and a multilobed tentacle above both eyes. Its colouration varies from pale to grey-brown. There are yellowish-brown, reddish to black spots on the head and dark blotches on the sides of the body. This species of fish grows to 12 cm (4 inch). It lives in coastal reefs and estuaries where it is commonly seen in small groups, often on jetty pylons. The Horned Blenny is endemic to Australia, occurring from northern Queensland to southern New South Wales.

Horned Blenny

Unicorn fish:

There are numbers of unrelated group of fish called “unicorn fish” as listed below. For this reason, the size and shape of the horns differs greatly. (For example, some have just a “hump” rather than a “horn”.)

Fishes in the genus Naso in the family Acanthuridae. (17 species. The nature-created fish version of unicorn.)

Unicorn and Naso unicornis

Crestfishes in the family Lophotidae. (They are elongate ribbon-like fishes, silver in color, found in deep tropical and subtropical waters worldwide.)

The unicorn grenadier Caelorinchus productus, family Macrouridae. (It is a species of rattail. This fish is found at depths of up to 600 m in the waters around northern Taiwan, southern Japan and the East China Sea.)

Scrawled filefish, Aluterus scriptus, family Monacanthidae (Its length is up to 1.1 m, and it is found on tropical reefs circumglobally to a depth of 120 m.)

Narwhal: The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. It is one of two species of white whale in the Monodontidae family (the other is the Beluga whale). It is possibly also related to the Irrawaddy dolphin. The Narwhal (meaning "corpse whale" in Old Norse due to its color) is a rarely seen Arctic whale (rarely found south of latitude 70°N) and very little is known about this creature even today. Narwhals maximum life span is about 50 years. Narwhals can grow to be about 16 feet (4.9 m) long (not counting the ‘tooth’), and weigh about 1.8 tons (1.6 tonnes). Females are slightly smaller, averaging about 13 feet (4 m) long, and weighing 1 ton (0.9 tonnes).  All narwhals have two teeth in their upper jaw. After the first year of a male narwhal's life, its left tooth grows outward, spirally. This long, single tooth projects from its upper jaw and can grow to be 7-10 feet (2-3 m) long. Tusks are usually twisted in a counterclockwise direction and have a hollow interior. The Japanese name of this spectacular horned sea animal is Ikkaku, which literally means “Single Horn” or “Unicorn”. Incidentally, the unicorn is called yunikoon or ikkakujuu in Japanese.

Note: Takeshi Yamada personally saw and touched the 6-feet long magnificent-looking horn (tusk) of Narwahl at the Cabinet of Curiosity exhibition at one of the upscale commercial fine art galleries in SOHO area of Manhattan, New York several years ago. It’s pristine ivory color horn with impeccable spiral formation “seemed like a body part of a giant creature from another Planet “according to Yamada. 

Narwhal

Spike-body Fish (categorized by Takeshi Yamada)

Porcupine Fish: Porcupine fish are fish of the family Diodontidae (order Tetraodontiformes), which is commonly called blowfish/balloonfish/globefish. Porcupine fish are closely related to pufferfishes but porcupinefish have many spines on their body. This animal is called harisenbon in Japan, and it literally means “a thousand needles”. Fortunately its spikes do not contain any poisons for humans. The taxidermy of this animal is commonly displayed at traditional Japanese restaurants. Incidentally, taxidermy of this fish is as popular as the seahorse and piranha among collectors for their Cabinets of Curiosities around the world.

Porcupine fish (Diodon hystrix)

(left) on display (hang with strings at its top)

(right) Victorian taxidermy illustration.

Oniokoze. (The three Chinese pictograms read Devil-Tiger-Fish): Devil stinger. Inimicus japonicus. Unlike the above stated porcupine fish, this fish’s spikes are extensions of fins. This is a quite common fish found in Japan and It grows up to 29 cm (about a foot long). This poisonous (extremely painful poisons in its spikes) fish is commercially cultured as a food in Japan. (Unlike people in other nations, Japanese people eat many deadly poisonous fish including Fugu.) It has been also used in Chinese medicine. Oniokoze are commonly served in the style of sushi or deep fried. Takeshi Yamada said it is a very tasty fish and there are absolutely no body parts to be thrown away when its entire body is deep fried.)

http://higedura.cool.ne.jp/oniokoze-esomaster.html

The Following Japanese restaurant website features excellent photographs of 1) freshly captured oniokoze 2) Oniokoze sashimi 3) Oniokoze stew 4) Deep fried oniokoze.

http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~iseebi/oni-okoze.htm

Oniokoze

Kyoto University "Fauna Japonica. Pisces"

False Horned Fish (categorized by Takeshi Yamada)

Flower Horn fish:  Flower Horn fish is a Cichlid which is classified under the genus Cichlasoma that comes from the South American Cichlid family. Similar to Blood Parrot fish, Flower Horns originated from selective cross breeding. Although this fish is called “horned” fish, physically speaking, it has a hump instead on its forehead. In the aspect of ‘feng-shui’, a fully developed hump on the Flower Horn’s head symbolizes prosperity, luck and longevity. It is believed that a huge hump on the forehead enhances a better feng-shui for the owner.

Continue to Part 3

Copyright by Takeshi Yamada, Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, April 2007. Revised in July 2008. All Rights Reserved.    

E-mail: yamada108@verizon.net

Special thanks to Dr. Eriko N. Bond, Lauren D. Travis, Maremi Kakushina and Seara (Sea Rabbit)

Also special thanks to Doug Higley (Senior Proofreader)

http://www.sideshowworld.com/SSA-15.html

http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members_detail.php?id=528

http://www.horseshoecrab.org/poem/feature/takeshi.html

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/exhibitions/other/worldwonders.jsp