Alaska Blackfish
Encyclopedia
The Alaska blackfish, Dallia pectoralis, is a fish that grows to 7 in in length. It is elongate and cylindrical, with a dark olive-brown coloration. Four to six dark blotches run vertically along the sides, and the belly is white. The fins have reddish-brown speckles. Once thought to be herbivore
s, their primary diet is larvae of insects such as midges
and mosquito
s. They are found in swamps, ponds, lakes and streams with vegetation for cover, in tundra and forested locations not far inland. Their range is Alaska
and the Bering Sea
islands. Alaska Natives
used to eat these fish and feed them to their dogs a great deal, catching them in the fall and freezing them for use over winter.
The hardiness of the Alaska blackfish is of mythical proportions. The fish survives the cold winters by moving to a depth of 7–8 meters when the surface becomes solid ice. Large gills protected by gill covers help them to survive the winters where the water temperatures drop to 0 °C (32 °F), including tales of reviving fish after they are frozen solid. Though the Alaskan blackfish can be supercooled for short periods at temperatures as low as −20 °C (−36 °F) in controlled environment without contact with ice crystals, no Alaska blackfish has ever survived for even as much as an hour under these freezing conditions. Freezing any part of the body results in necrosis
.
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
s, their primary diet is larvae of insects such as midges
Midge (insect)
Midges comprise many kinds of very small two-winged flies found world-wide. The term does not encapsulate a well-defined taxonomic group, but includes animals in several families of Nematoceran Diptera. While some midges are vectors for disease, many others play useful roles as prey items for...
and mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s. They are found in swamps, ponds, lakes and streams with vegetation for cover, in tundra and forested locations not far inland. Their range is Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
islands. Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
used to eat these fish and feed them to their dogs a great deal, catching them in the fall and freezing them for use over winter.
The hardiness of the Alaska blackfish is of mythical proportions. The fish survives the cold winters by moving to a depth of 7–8 meters when the surface becomes solid ice. Large gills protected by gill covers help them to survive the winters where the water temperatures drop to 0 °C (32 °F), including tales of reviving fish after they are frozen solid. Though the Alaskan blackfish can be supercooled for short periods at temperatures as low as −20 °C (−36 °F) in controlled environment without contact with ice crystals, no Alaska blackfish has ever survived for even as much as an hour under these freezing conditions. Freezing any part of the body results in necrosis
Necrosis
Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
.