Sirenfish

Blogging live from Fiji today where scientists from the Fijian Marine and Equine University have captured the first live specimen of the fabled Sirenfish. The Sirenfish is a particularly fascinating member of the cantata-cisternarum family which until recently was believed to be entirely mythological. The Sirenfish's legend in fact is believed to have been mixed up with the myth of the mermaid in about 1763 in Guiseppe L'alinquito's 'Stories of the Deep'.

First discovered in March 15th 2006 by Dr. Russell Handplate, the fish is about 5cm in length, brilliant blue in colour with a handsome black dorsal fin. According to first hand reports, as soon as the Sirenfish is out of water it emits a shrill yet beautiful melody which is something akin to a soothing lullaby.
When Dr. Handplate first discovered the Sirenfish due to a lack of conclusive evidence he was made a laughing stock and was stripped of his title as dean of Mythological Marine studies at Oxford Universities Balliol College. Shortly after this Dr. Handplate renounced all his past theories and disappeared into obscurity.


Dr. Handplate shown here in happier times on a fishing trip in Ireland in 2005.

On a day when most of the world is celebrating the inauguration of the US's first African American president we can also celebrate another victory, this time of the scientific variety.



Deep see diver Tui "Ronald" Talunga (pictured here with a rare blue sack fish) captured and successfully presented the worlds first glimpse of a live Sirenfish. The unveiling will officially occur on February 1st at the Chelsea School of Marine Biology, London, please email info@csmb.edu for more info. If we can locate him, guest speaker Dr. Russell Handplate will deliver a speech about the Sirenfish and it's impact on the validation of Marine Mythology as a legitimate field of academic research.