The subject of fish has come up several times recently – Tigris Carp & Salmon of (Doubt) Wisdom as wise advisors, BabelFish as a metaphor for language independent interoperability interface, and I had become convinced I’d heard of “talking catfish” somewhere before. I say heard of, because I was also recently thinking I was maybe hearing the local catfish amongst all the nightime noise of calling frogs, chuntering ducks, and chattering cicadas. An impression re-inforced when I caught a 3 or 4 pounder in the pond outside the front door and it growled at me.
Yes, this news story really does feature “Professor A. Bass” talking about coastal fish species Midshipmen and Toadfish that buzz and hum to communicate with each other. Trust me, he’s a scientist.