#otoliths

[vispoarchive]

Jim Leftwich in Otoliths 44 (2017).

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Otoliths - Lithos

I saw guitarist/vocalist Tom Smith play a few times well over a decade now with the great, under-heralded Bay Area band Social Studies. Smith takes center stage with Otoliths — and their new debut album is a crackling collection of slightly skewed jangle pop, packed with sweet melodies, endless hooks, and crunchy guitars. Those elements provide a killer backdrop for Smith's lyrics, which expertly walk the line between wry and lovestruck, witty and heartbroken. Occasionally, an LP along these lines hits just right; Lithos is one of those LPs! Classic songwriting, high-energy performances, pleasing production. The good stuff!

[uwlmvac]

These are remains from a fish called the freshwater drum (sheepshead). They were found in a refuse pit at an Oneota site in Onalaska. At the left is a pharyngeal arch—part of two matched pairs of plates in the fish’s throat, used for crushing mussels. The other four are otoliths, or “ear stones.” An otolith in each ear helps the fish with balance and movement. Two of the otoliths are burned. The three otoliths in the center are all lefts, and the one at the right is a right, from smaller fish. These right and left otoliths came from four different fish, and the pharyngeal arch represents another, smaller fish, bringing the total to five. Different sides and sizes of fish bones help us figure out how many fish are represented—the Minimum Number of Individuals, or MNI.

Freshwater drum have the largest otoliths of our freshwater fishes. The shape of drum otoliths makes them easy to identify, and their composition allows for exceptional preservation at archaeological sites. Comparing measurements of archaeological otoliths to modern specimens from fish of known weights provides a way for biologists and archaeologists to estimate size- and the contribution of drum fish to the diet. Otoliths from drum weighing 40 pounds or more have been found at La Crosse area Oneota sites.

In addition to mussels, drum eat snails and a variety of crustaceans.

[bluemonkwrites]

Two short stories just published.

[hiromisuzukimicrojournal]

I.

II.

III.

IV.

✥

See the Sky About to Rain

© GIF Poetry by hiromi suzuki, 2022

published in otoliths issue 67 (November 1, 2022)

…

via otoliths Issue 67

[stumpyshocky]

Texas Superstitions - Lucky Bone/Stone & Fish Folklore

“In Texas some people carry a small bone from a fish’s head as a charm against evil. This charm is most effective after it has been lost” (Hendricks 5). 

This superstition comes from Lubbock, TX, but is echoed by another superstition from Fort Worth, TX: “Two little bones, found in the head of a certain fish, are called lucky stones; but the good luck comes only after they are lost” (Bergen 57). What is the fish bone referenced?

The luck of a fish bone, the Journal of American Folklore likes to call it the lucky bone, is not an unknown superstition throughout America. Bergen mentions superstitions from Newfoundland, Maryland, and the Western Central States, that all say that by carrying/wearing a bone from a fish you will have good luck. In these other superstitions, the type of fish is specified as either a Haddock (True Cod), Cod, Perch, or from a Gar (Osprey). The two superstitions from Texas, however, don’t give us this information. It’s just from “...a certain fish,” or from a fish head in general. I tried searching around but couldn’t find any other source stating what the type of fish is necessary in Texas. My assumption would be that any type of Demersal fish would work, such as the Catfish. Personally, Catfish are a big part of my childhood. Catfish cookouts at the lake were a common occurrence in my home town where we would fry up Catfish with our church, family, friends, anyone! 

Another fish that is a contender would be the Freshwater Drum (or gaspergou, drumfish). It is a fairly common fish in Texas and already has some magical lore associated with a bone inside its ear, called the Lucky Stone. The Lucky Stone is a part of Hoodoo magic/lore (I am not going to comment on Hoodoo or how to use/work a Lucky Stone as I am not part of this tradition). It is an otolith, or ear bone, of a fish that is usually found on shores when the heads of fish are thrown back into the water from fisherman, causing the bones to dislodge and wash ashore (Lucky Stone). A fish has two otoliths. Per Lucky Mojo, “each Drumfish ear bone has a groove or sulcus on one face that forms either an ‘L’ mark or a ‘J’ mark. The ‘L’ bones are from the fish's right side, while the ‘J’ bones come from the fish's left side....it is a common belief these days that the letter-like markings ‘L’ and ‘J’ stand for Lord Jesus, Luck and Joy, or Love and Joy” (Lucky Mojo). Lucky Mojo also mentions that the otolith of the catfish is lucky as well, so maybe that is the answer to what fish is needed for the Texas superstitions? They state “the Catfish otolith, due to the name ‘Cat’ and its relationship to sexual terms like ‘Cathouse’ and ‘[P*ssy],’ is additionally thought to bring special luck to prostitutes and women gamblers” (Lucky Stone). 

After reading about the Lucky Stone/otolith, I am fairly certain this is the two lucky stones referenced from the Fort Worth superstition. Now, what does it mean that the luck is better after they are lost? Could this be attained by intentionally losing them, such as burying them or throwing them in a river (a common theme in other folklore/superstitions). The two superstitions don’t say you have to lose them, just that the luck is better, or good, after losing them. 

There is a lot of potential in using these lucky bones/otoliths. This could be a way to seek a familiar or gain more power, like in the Toad Bone Rite. I will definitely do some experimentation, but since I don’t fish, I might have to take a trip to the store. Maybe I can convince my husband we should have some fried catfish? Now I am hungry…

Some other fish lore (all from Bergen):

-Wearing the bone from the head of a cod will cure cramps

-Wearing the fin-bone from a Haddock (caught without touching the boat) will cure cramps

-The fin-bone mentioned above is also said to cure toothaches if worn in a bag, or rheumatism if carried in your pocket. 

Fisherman followed all types of superstitions, from women not being allowed on the boat, to never saying the word “alligator” on the boat. 

Thank you for Reading!

Hope you enjoyed reading this - let me know what you thought. Got anything to add? Have you heard of a similar superstitions from your community/area? Let me know!  

Sources

Bergen, Fanny D. “The Seventh Volume of the Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 12, no. 44, 1899, pp. 55-63. JSTOR, Accessed 3 Sept. 2020.

Hendricks, George D. Mirrors, Mice, and Mustaches: A Sampling of Superstitions and Popular Beliefs in Texas. Southern Methodist University Press, 1981. 

“Lucky Stone, Lucky Bone, Lucky Rock, Fish Head Stone, Drumfish Bone, Fish Ear Bone, Lucky Otolith.” Lucky Mojo. 

[teenyfish]

Marine Biology Story of the Day #5:

Welp, I’m having trouble uploading videos to tumblr.  Let me know in the comments if you know any tricks when it comes to working with tumblr’s video sharing, it would be much appreciated. 

So instead, today we are going to do “Life on a Research Vessel Part 1″. 

One of my more recent trips was aboard NOAA’s Oregon II for a shark and red snapper longline research trip.  You can read more about the specifics of that trip and learn more about longline fishing here: https://teenyfish.tumblr.com/post/622033107021873152/marine-biology-story-of-the-day.

So on this trip, I was on the night watch as a scientist.  We were going to stations in the Gulf of Mexico around the clock, 24 hours a day, catching sharks and collecting data.  Night watch was from Midnight to Noon, so I generally woke up around 11:30 pm to throw on some clothes and grab a bowl of blue bell ice cream (breakfast of champions) and meet everyone in the science lab.  There, we would wait until we reached a station to set out our first longline. Once the longline was out we would wait 1 hour for the sharks to come biting. 

About an hour later, it was time to haul our line back.  Our boat crewmen had a winch to reel in the line, and our job was to process sharks and take data as quickly as possible to get them back in the water.  

tiger shark on the line, ready to come up.

Measuring, tagging, fin clipping, and hook removal on an Atlantic sharpnose. Fin clipping involved taking a “biopsy” of fin tissue, and this tissue will be instrumental in a variety of shark population genetics projects. 

weighing the shark--And then would send the sharks on their way!  This took about 5 minutes total to ensure the shark’s survival.  Sometimes we would have multiple sharks going at once--it’s always important to keep a good head during this so you process the babies quickly and don’t get hurt or bit. 

Then we would go and process the red snapper--red snapper are a large recreational game fish that hang out offshore along reefs, and they were another target species of this survey.  We would take a few fish to process (yes, they are dead).  

We would determine the sex of the fish and take sections of ovaries to determine information about reproductive health of this particular population, and we would take otoliths to determine the fish’s age.  An otolith is the ear bone of the fish--and it grows much in the same way a tree ring does.  The fish lays down individual growth rings each year in this teeny tiny bone, and you can read them like tree rings!

This information is crucial for us to understand how long it is taking fish to mature (warmer waters from climate change = fish mature faster, at smaller sizes, which means they produce less offspring).  Also, sex data determines the ratio of males/females in the population and helps fisheries management make decisions about size limits for fishermen to prevent overfishing of mature females.  After we got the data, we would filet the fish for the galley to cook up later (sorry vegetarians and vegans).

Then we we would do this on repeat for 12 hours--with a break for real breakfast at about 7 am.  We had a galley on board the ship and breakfast was always my favorite because it meant biscuits, pancakes, or french toast.   I would also always make sure to catch the sunrise beforehand, at 6 am 

And then our watch would end at noon, and we would eat lunch as dinner.  Sometimes we would head out to watch the day watch pull in a longline, but usually we would go back to our bunks to crash.  Since we were only out on this trip for 2 weeks, our bodies were still not used to that time change, and working 12 hours in the Texas heat probably contributed to that as well. 

sometimes, if I caught a day watch longline though, we would get to see some different cool stuff, like this remora 

remoras are basically fish with big suction cups on their heads.  They attach to the bellies of sharks, whales, and other large ocean going critters and scavenge from the meals the sharks catch.  

Our rooms were maybe 6ft by 8ft, with two bunks, a wardrobe for storage, and a sink.  Each room had one person on the night watch, and one on the day watch, so each person could sleep in peace while the other was working.  Each chief scientist and the Captain had rooms to themselves. There were 2 showers for a boat full of 30+ ppl, and showering in rough seas can be difficult (sometimes you just fall butt ass naked out of the shower if you aren’t holding on tight).  There was also a lounge stocked with movies that the navy gets pre-released (so I got to watch the live action Aladdin movie before it came out in theaters), laundry machines, and a small gym (haha, there was no way I was going to work out).  

Thanks for reading, and as always, if you have any questions about life on board or the research, PLEASE don’t hesitate to ask! 

[stillstairwellnumberone]

otoliths

David Kjellin near free David Kjellin is a visual and experimental writer. His work has appeared in magazines such as

I have a visual poetry sequence of temporary and spontaneous collages in latest Otoliths! Check it out!