20,000 Fish Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, one species at a time. Quotes are from the 1993 Walter James Miller/Frederick Paul Walter translation.

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Sea pen (Genus Virgularia)

The genus Virgularia consists of 22 species, some of the many coral species  known as sea pens. Aronnax identified "an admirable genus Virgularia from Norwegian waters" in the Nautilus's salon (20,000 Leagues p. 74). He presumably recognized one of the three species in Vigularia identified before he boarded the Nautilus in 1866. Pictured is Virgularia mirabilis, the slender sea pen, which can indeed be found in Norwegian waters (along with the rest of the Atlantic). 

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Mullet (Family Mugilidae or Family Mullidae)

Mullets consist of two distantly related families of fish: the grey mullets (Order Mugiliformes, Family Mugilidae), consisting of about 80 species, and the red mullets (Order Perciformes, Family Mullidae, Genus Mullus), consisting of two species. The distinction between grey and red mullets is only necessary in Europe, as red mullets are called goatfish outside the continent. 

The mullet Aronnax described seeing in the Western Pacific, "some bewhiskered mullet, marked with a double line of black" (20,000 Leagues p. 98) does not seem to match any known species of mullet. While multiple species of mullet do live in the area, none that I found have barbels (sensory strands, appearing similar to whiskers, on the chins of fish); while multiple species of mullet have barbels, none that I found are native to the west Pacific or have two black stripes. Pictured is the striped red mullet, a colorful fish found in the Mediterranean Sea, northern Atlantic Ocean, and Black Sea.

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Sea pen (Order Pennatulacea)

Sea pen coral, among the specimens Aronnax notes in the Nautilus' salon, is soft coral in one of the 16 families of the order Pennatulacea. Although its common name comes from its resemblance to a quill pen, most sea pens do not have the feathery appearance that inspired the name. Pictured is one that does: the slender sea pen (Stylatula elongata).

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Green wrasse (Choerodon schoenleinii)

There are three species of fish commonly known as the "green wrasse" (20,000 Leagues p. 98); the passengers of the Nautilus, then traveling off the coast of Japan, could only have seen Choerodon schoenleinii. Choerodon schoenleinii, also known as the blackspot tuskfish or Tsing Yi (青衣), is easily identified by the single black spot on its dorsal fin. In 2011, a diver photographed a green wrasse smashing a clam on a rock, the first images of a fish in the wild using a tool.

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Sea fan (Isis hippuris)

Another specimen in Nemo's cases is "isis coral from the Molucca Islands" (20,000 Leagues p. 74). The genus Isis contains one species, Isis hippuris; along with many other coral species, its common name is the sea fan. A steroid isolated from the coral has recently appeared in the scientific literature as a possible treatment for cancer.

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Chinese stingray (Dasyatis sinensis)

Not much is known about the Chinese stingray; its official conservation status is Data Deficient, meaning that the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) does not have enough information to make a ruling. Oddly, the Chinese stingray is one of the three most commonly sold stingrays in China. Arronax does not offer any additional insight into the ray's habits, only noting that he "was delighted by a Chinese ray, yellow on top, pink underneath, with three stings behind his eye. This is a rare species whose actual existence was still in doubt in Lacépède's day, since he had never seen one except in an army of Japanese drawings" (20,000 Leagues p. 98).

Pictured is seemingly the only existing image of Dasyatis sinensis: the illustration accompanying the original description of the species.

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Gorgonian coral (Order Alcyonacea, previously Gorgonacea)

Aronnax identifies "some gorgonian coral arranged like a fan" (20,000 Leagues p. 74) among Nemo's specimens. He is presumably referring to some type of sea fan, soft coral in the order Alcyonacea (also known as sea whips). Alcyonacea found in shallower water, with stronger currents, are more flexible and look more like fans; the photograph shows a Venus fan (Gorgonia flabellum).

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"Chinese" Triggerfish (Balistes rotundatus) 

pictured: Balistes capriscus

"'A triggerfish,' I remarked. 'A Chinese triggerfish,' Ned added. 'Genus Balistes, family Scleroderma, order Plectognatha,' Conseil murmured. No doubt about it, Ned and Conseil together could make one distinguished naturalist."  (20,000 Leagues p. 98)

Triggerfish, consisting of about 40 species, are so named due to a dorsal spine that locks in place and is unlocked by depressing a "trigger" spine. They are unusually intelligent for fish; this, along with their often bright colors, makes them popular aquarium fish.

The name "Chinese triggerfish" seems only to appear in translations of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. What fish, then, did the travelers see? Luckily, Conseil identifies the genus, and Balistes only has eight species. Only one, Balistes rotundatus, is found in the West Pacific, where the Nautilus was traveling. My usual reference sources provide neither information, a common name, nor a photograph, so this post is illustrated with Balistes capriscus, the grey triggerfish. This triggerfish displays the coloring Aronnax describes (grey on top, white on the bottom), but it's only found in the eastern Atlantic.

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Organ-pipe coral (Tubipora musica)

"The cases containing the zoophytes displayed some very curious specimens from the two groups, the polyps and the echinoderms. In the first group there were organ-pipe coral..." (p. 74)

Organ-pipe coral, displayed in Captain Nemo's salon on the Nautilus, is notable for its bright red coloration and the "pipes" for which it was named. The coral's red skeleton is not visible while it is alive, as it is covered in grey polyps.

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Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)

"Therefore, until we get more information, I shall assume the monster to be a sea unicorn of colossal dimensions, armed not with a mere lance but with a real spur, like the ironclad frigates or those called 'rams' of war, whose mass and motive mower it also possesses."  (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, p. 14)

The defining feature of the narwhal, a member of the Monodontidae family along with belugas, is its tusk. The tusk, usually only present in male narwhals, is an ivory tooth that grows through the upper lip. They prefer deep, cold water of the polar regions.

When asked for an opinion on the "monster" which has been sinking ships in 1866, Professor Aronnax theorizes that it is a narwhal--one larger, faster, and stronger than any found before or since. Of course, his theory is off-base, and the narwhal does not actually appear in the novel.