Madtom

You don’t want to piss off this fish

Today’s New York Times Spelling Bee letters:

A, M, N, O, R, T, and center D (all words must include D).

Merriam-Webster says…

Silly little dictionary! Don’t you know madtom can’t possibly be a word if the New York Times says it ain’t?

For further fascinating facts, check out the Spelling Bee Master.

What’s your favorite dord* from today’s puzzle?

My Two Cents

To me, madtom sounds like something that happens in American football when a certain quarterback named Brady gets upset over the fact that he might actually lose a game, after which he engineers a 130-yard drive in under seven seconds to beat whatever team had the chutzpah to get a lead late in the fourth quarter.

(I know 130-yard drives are an impossibility in American football… except for Tom Brady, who has become the Chuck Norris meme of that sport. And to underscore my sarcasm, I will admit to being a Jets fan.)

The dictionary explains that madtom comes from adding the word mad (as in berserk) to the word tom (as in cat). I guess because this is a fish that might sting.

Let’s see… we have a fish that’s a cat who, when aroused like an angry bear, stings you like a bee. That sounds like a really nasty-looking chimera of an animal! Unless the bear is a panda. Then it’s cute as hell, because there’s nothing cuter than a panda. Except for a lolcat, of course.

Feline fish

A madtom is a type of catfish.

Now, when people hear catfish, they probably think of one of these:

Today we will be talking about the one on the left.

Catfish are so named for their barbels, which are not the gym equipment they use to get swole, but those slender, whiskerlike sensory organs near their mouths. The word barbel comes from the Latin barbula, or “little beard”. Most catfish are found in rivers and lakes, but there are some saltwater specimens and even a Brazilian species that lives underground, in caves.

Catfish don’t have scales, although some might seem like they’re sporting a coat of armor. Which means that, despite the fact that catfish are routinely eaten the world over, they are not, technically-speaking, kosher. (Kosher fish must have both fins and scales.)

One of the features of the order Siluriformes, to which catfish belong, is the presence of a swim bladder. The internal organ controls the buoyancy of fish, allowing them to stay at whatever water level they need without expending too much energy. In the case of catfish, the gas bladder (as it’s also known) is smaller than in other fish. This, along with their relatively heavy, bony heads, allows them to sink easily and feed off the gunk at the bottom of wherever they happen to be.

Hence, their fame as bottom feeders. And aquarium cleaners. Despite this, they are considered a healthy food item, as far as fish go. The bigger species are prized as lunch or dinner… or trophy photos like the one shown above. The smaller ones, especially those of the genus Corydoras, are commonly found in fish tanks that carry tropical fish.

Then there’s the walking catfish. This creature from Southeast Asia tries to remind us on a daily basis how evolution started for land-faring animals. Although it doesn’t really walk around with a cane and a top hat — and who does anymore, these days? — it can wiggle across dry land using its fins and a snakelike movement.

Although “walking catfish” is the common name used for any fish one might see crossing a road or a bridge, the moniker refers to only one of the many species of airbreathing catfish.

Notorious notorus

Madtoms belong to the freshwater variety of catfish, and the genus Notorus. There are 29 recognized species, one of which is believed to be extinct. In fact, quite a few other species are endangered. Madtoms are native to the central and eastern regions of the United States, and can also be found in Canada.

Their fin spines contain a mild venom with a sting that’s been compared to that of a honey bee. That’s why one has to be careful when handling the fish after hooking and reeling them out of the water. Except for the Canadian ones; they’re very polite and won’t hurt you. And if they do, they will apologize profusely.

Then there’s the very adorable species known as chucky madtom. (Not to be confused with Chucky the mad doll.)

Hmmm. Maybe we can start a new meme trend: lolcatfish.

Most madtoms are a few inches long and therefore not industrially caught and served for dinner. Which is a good thing for them.

And also for us. Imagine going to a fish store and asking for a madtom, only to have the fishmonger explain that they don’t exist, because the editors of the Spelling Bee decided that madtom is a dord.*

Please check out my previous entry on another dord:

*What the heck is a dord, anyway? Here you go: