Daily fish fact #629

Plainfin midshipman!

While the plainfin midshipman can live up to several hundred meters deep, this fish breeds in the intertidal zone! A (type I) male will claim a nest site, typically under a rock or in a crevice, and woo females to lay their eggs in his nest. Once he has enough eggs to his liking, he fertilises them and cares for the eggs and young larvae until they grow to a juvenile age! The midshipman father is very attentive to his babies, as he keeps their nest as clean as possible and fans them out to give them better access to oxygenated water, he’ll even go and get more water to the nest if the eggs are in danger of drying out during low tide.

Always liked this guy. Herndon climb at the U.S Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD.

Nelson and the Bear by Richard Westall

Midshipman drawing of a 24-pounder cannon. Partially coloured, Danish, around 1811

A Royal Navy midshipman portrait dated 1770 - 1799, in the manner of John Dowman, ARA (Ruabon, North Wales, 1750 – Wrexham 1824).

230312_HX510_0009 by Jarrod Schad Via Flickr: USNA Midshipman Action Group Spring Break 2023.

Midshipman James Clark Ross

from the 1994 Polar Pioneers book by his great-grandson Rear Admiral Maurice James Ross. I suppose descendants still have this painting, as I can't find it anywhere.

Not Fitzjames related, but came across this portrait and thought many people probably have not seen it before.

Also in colour, from artnet.com:

The discipline of public schools, bad and demoralizing as it is, was light, compared to the tyranny of a midshipman's berth in 1803.

— Frederick Marryat, The Naval Officer (Frank Mildmay)

Thomas Luny, A British frigate backing her sails as she heaves-to approaching Torbay with other ships of the fleet beyond, 1803. (Wikimedia Commons)

Okay, everyone knows that I'm a veteran, so it's time for me to say it -

GO ARMY!!!

BEAT NAVY!!!

Game time is 3pm, so don't call me!!

Midshipmen and menhaden are fish I've heard of, but want to know more about.

In that case allow me to shed some light on the former!

Daily fish fact #576

Plainfin midshipman!

There are two types of males, Type I and Type II! Type I males build nests where females will lay eggs. After this the Type I males will protect and care for the eggs, fanning them out and supplying them with water if low tide strikes and leaves them under threat. Type II males are much smaller than Type I males (Type I males can be nine times as large), but they have a different tactic: they sneak into the nesting sites of Type I males and attempt to fertilise the eggs there. They're so dedicated to the strategy that Type II males have gonads so large they can appear like egg-carrying females!

Michael Wallace Naval Academy | Golance

With the help of Congressman John Dingell, Michael Wallace - Navy Academy applied to the U.S. Naval Academy after completing high school.

A midshipman’s or sailing master’s cocked hat of 1820-1830

Note that the gold fringe hanging from the brim was probably added in the late 19th or early 20th century when the hat was worn as a costume at a “fancy dress” party.

A posed Royal Navy midshipman portrait, later 19th century.

Oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau), Cano toadfish (Thalassophryne maculosa), Plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus)

Fishes of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. Originally published in 1964.

Internet Archive

FINALLY! AT LAST! GRANDDAD’S HORNBLOWER BOOK COLLECTION!!

HMS Asia "the dear creature"

[Letter from James Fitzjames to Robert Coningham]

[Image: Bonhams]