Via Dailymail: “Phallostethus cuulong is just 2 centimeters long, and is part of little known group of fish where the males have their reproductive organs on their chin.The newsly discovered specimen is only the 22nd known priapiumfish, which are named after the ancient Greek fertility deity, Priapus.
They all belong to a family called Phallostethidae and live in south-east Asia.
Researchers say they are baffled as to why the fish has its sexual organs on its head.
‘We don’t know why priapiumfish evolved their peculiar arrangement,’ said Lynne Parenti of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
‘It’s not just the reproductive organs that are attached to the priapiumfish’s head: so too is its bottom.
‘The fish’s anus is on its priapium, slightly forward from the genital opening.
‘Its guts perform a U-turn to reach it.
‘There’s not much going on at the back of these fish’
The new species was first discovered in July 2009 by Koichi Shibukawa of the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation in Tokyo, Japan.
He saw one swimming alone in a canal near the Mekong River in Vietnam, and managed to catch it in a net.
Working with colleagues at Can Tho University in Vietnam, he realized it was a new species.
I wonder what his next thought was once he realized just what was hanging from this creature’s head. I hope he thoroughly washed his hands afterwards!
