SC - Fish at Feasts

[Philippa Alderton]

Bear writes:

>The wels is a European catfish which grows to a maximum of about 9 feet in
length.  It is alleged to have eaten children.  I read about it some time
after I was in Europe and don't recall coming across it as an item of
cuisine.  However, it is referenced in Root's Food.  A one liner similar to
the opening sentence of this message.<

When I got this message, I had just done a search on catfish species which
I had sent to Adamantius. It read as follows:

>Have just studied a number of species of catfish, and found out the
following. Of the 20 species which I was able to get information about,
one, Kryptopterus bicirrhis is found in Asia and is about 6 " at maturity.
Another, Mystus bimaculatus, is found in Sumatra, and grows to 3 ".
Another, Pangasius hypothalmus is from Thailand, and grows to about 18-39".
Another is called Synodontis alberti, grows to 6" and is found around
Zaire, as is Synodontis angelicus which grows to about 7". Syndontis
eupterus is again found in Africa, around the White Nile, the Chad Basin,
and the Niger, also growing to 6".

Most of these species look very different from our various American breeds,
and I suspect that they're whiskers are the only thing they have in common.
All the rest of the species came from the Americas, and I was unable to
find any European species. This isn't a definitive study, but I would say
that all indications are that catfish were not known in the area of Europe
we play in, and therefore there is very little likelyhood of finding period
recipes for the things.<

Since I didn't find anything about these wels in my search, could you
possibly try to find out what their scientific name is, and if there are
any related species in Europe? Also, I'm wondering if the wels might simply
be a large carp, or if they show the same characteristics our American
catfish show, ie eating habits, sexing, and the scaleless skin, etc, not to
mention their flavor and texture qualities.



Phlip

Phlip at bright.net

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider that cain't be throwed.
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