Alaska Blackfish

The Alaska blackfish looks like an overweight bulldog with fins. A severe underbite imparts a serious frown on this reclusive throwback to the dark ages. It would not be difficult to picture the little blackfish as a prime player in the evolutionary segment of Disney’s Fantasia, attempting to drag itself out of the primordial soup, but not quite succeeding. If the blackfish at one time really did attempt to exit the confines of the murky depths of our lakes, it did not fail its task completely. The bottom-dwelling Alaska blackfish is one of the few species of fish in the world that are able to breathe air using a modified esophagus. This trait comes in handy for the blackfish that inhabit tundra pools and seasonal ponds which, during times of low precipitation, can morph into muck puddles. As long as the blackfish can wriggle down into that anoxic, smelly sludge and keep its skin from drying out, it can gulp air until the next rain fills its pond and oxygenates its water.

Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish

  Alaska Blackfish