Ode to Batfish: Biology in Verse

Oh batfish, oh batfish of the briny deep

On modified pectoral fins you creep

“Walking” along the benthic sea floor

Of all the fishes, it’s you I adore

Your rostrum projects like a unicorn snout

While your dorsal fin spine above you pokes out

You wave it about to attract your prey

Like an undersea angler, or so they say

Dorsoventral compression makes your body shape flat

Thick fins project sideways, like the wings of a bat

Often your skin is bumpy and brown

Though some colorful species remind us of clowns

Large head, in a circle or triangle shape

With a tiny tail, you assess the landscape

Your beauteous lips in an eternal pout

Eating worms, fish, crustaceans is what you are about

Some species reside in shallower seas

While others crawl in the deep with ease

Tropical and subtropical oceans you span

And I will always be your biggest fan

Some say that you’re ugly, some say that you’re strange

But there’s nothing about you I would willingly change

Oh batfish, oh batfish who dwells in the sea

My favorite fish you will always be

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For more on the batfish (aka the coolest fish ever):

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=194
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/BatFish/Batfish.htm

And check out these batfish videos!