Matt Murrie

1 min

Curious about the Monkeyface Prickleback

Updated: Mar 17, 2020

What? to Wow! for Educators (from The Screaming Hairy Armadillo, pp. 18-19)

What: The monekyface prickleback is a funny looking fish with an even funnier sounding name.

Who: From indigenous Americans to creative chefs today, whoever has been able to catch one, has been making meals out of the monkeyface prickleback.

How: How did they get their name? Check out their face; looks just like a monkey!

Where: They live near shores along the Pacific from Baja California, Mexico all the way up north to the state of Oregon in the U.S..

When: When they swim to close to the surface, they run the risk of ending up in the beak of a piscivorous bird patrolling the rolling waves.

Why: Why "prickleback"? Once you get past it's monkeyface, you'll see prickly spines running down its dorsal fin.

Huh?: What's a "prickleback"? It's a type of fish that looks a lot like an eel, even thought it's not.

Wow!: Monkeyface pricklebacks can breath out of water for well over a day!

More:

Eat Local, Eat Weird

Curiosity Based Learning

What? to Wow!

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo