The fish that could climb palm trees: observation, rumour and colonial hearsay in nineteenth-century ichthyology

Müller, J.M. (2021)

Part of book or chapter of book

Nineteenth-century European ichthyologists seldom had the opportunity to study live specimens of fishes from other continents and often had to rely on more or less reliable travel accounts and reports from colonial administration posts. The discovery of the respiratory organs of air-breathing fishes illustrates the difficulty to examine questionable information. Paradoxically, it was the very distrust in reports from far abroad that led to the discovery of the respiratory behaviour of these animals. Accounts of the climbing perch (Anabas testudineus), a fish that reportedly could climb into trees to drink palm wine required explanations for such incredible claims and inspired more research on this topic. In addition to comparative analyses of other species, zoologists were also dependent on information that required stringent forms of source criticism. As this case shows, rumours and hearsay could play a catalytic role in a discipline that typically relied on empirical methods and direct observation.

• History of Knowledge
• Rumour
• Fishes
• India
• Anabas

• All authors: Müller, J.M.
• Editor(s): Schulte Nordholt, A.; Haar, A. van de
• Date: 2021-10-25
• Title of host publication: Faux Titre; Figurations animalières à travers les textes et l’image en Europe: Du Moyen Âge à nos jours. Essais en hommage à Paul J. Smith
• Pages: 89 - 100
• ISBN (print): 9789004472006
• ISBN (electronic): 9789004472013
• DOI: doi:10.1163/9789004472013_009
• Name: 453