Peacock bass

Peacock bass is the common name in English for a group of closely related species of tropical, freshwater fish of the genus Cichla.

Taxonomic and common names

There are 15 known species of peacock bass, others will surely be described (but see the results based on DNA data). Their common names vary greatly depending on the country, region, stage of development and local anglers. Below is a complete list of the taxonomic, binomial names for these cichlids, along with available English common names.

Bass fishing

Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui), spotted bass or Kentucky bass (Micropterus punctulatus), and Guadalupe bass (order Perciformes).

Modern bass fishing has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry. The sport has changed drastically since its beginnings in the late 19th century. From humble beginnings, the black bass has become the second most specifically sought-after game fish in the United States. The sport has driven the development of all manner of fishing gear, including rods, reels, lines, lures, electronic depth and fish-finding instruments, drift boats, float tubes, and specialized bass boats.

Black bass

All black bass are well known as strong fighters and are fished recreationally. Depending upon species and various other factors such as water quality and availability of food, black bass may be found in lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, streams, creeks, even roadside ditches. Largemouth are known for their greater overall size and resistance when hooked, favoring short, powerful runs and escape to cover such as submerged logs or weedbeds, while smallmouth bass tend to jump more and fight aggressively on the surface when hooked, in order to throw the hook.

Peafowl

Peafowl is a species of birds that include two Asiatic species (the blue or Indian peafowl originally of India and Sri Lanka and the green peafowl of Myanmar, Indochina, and Java) and one African species (the Congo peafowl native only to the Congo Basin) of bird in the genera Pavo and Afropavo of the Phasianidae family, the pheasants and their allies, known for the male's piercing call and, among the Asiatic species, his extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers which he displays as part of a courtship ritual. The term peacock is properly reserved for the male; the female is known as a peahen, and the immature offspring are sometimes called peachicks.

The functions of the elaborate iridescent coloration and large "train" of peacocks have been the subject of extensive scientific debate. Charles Darwin suggested they served to attract females, and the showy features of the males had evolved by sexual selection. More recently, Amotz Zahavi proposed in his handicap theory that these features acted as honest signals of the males' fitness, since less fit males would be disadvantaged by the difficulty of surviving with such large and conspicuous structures.

Bass

Bass or Basses may refer to:

Fish

Music

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fishing sometimes takes place in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.

The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms. The term is not normally applied to catching farmed fish, or to aquatic mammals, such as whales, where the term whaling is more appropriate.

According to FAO statistics, the total number of commercial fishermen and fish farmers is estimated to be 38 million. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people in developing countries. In 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with an additional 7.4 kilograms harvested from fish farms. In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational pastime.

History

Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back to at least the beginning of the Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish.Archaeology features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones, and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities.