Fishing for Clues!

 BEDFM 4970. Donated by R W Howe, 9 May 1923 

Among the items in The Collectors Gallery, there are three bony structures about the length of a hand. They’re labelled “FISH TUSK R AMAZON”, but look at a picture of a tusk fish on the web, and it just doesn’t seem right. So what are they?

I contacted Project Noah, an online platform which “harnesses the power of citizen scientists everywhere”. Could anyone solve the puzzle of the “tusks”?  And amazingly, they could! 

The answer came from a fish specialist in the Tasmania Museum. Our “tusks” are actually spines from the front fins of a catfish, probably the Megalodoras, also know as the Giant Talking Catfish. Result!

So if you come and pay us a visit, have a look for the "tusk fish" in our Collectors Gallery.

Written by Collections Volunteer Sarah