{"id":68386,"date":"2025-02-25T09:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=68386"},"modified":"2025-02-25T09:14:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:14:48","slug":"fried-and-steamed-mud-food-for-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=68386","title":{"rendered":"Fried and steamed mud: food for the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a Hong Kong restaurant:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dare you try them?<\/p>\n

Seriously, though, what gives with the translations?<\/p>\n

I think that the problem arose with the name of the fish, which is so obscure that I haven't met anyone who has heard of it.\u00a0 We know it's likely piscine because of the fish semantophore on the left, and we can guess that it is pronounced something like\u00a0meng<\/i>\u00a0because of the phonophore on the right.\u00a0 The character preceding the mystery glyph is the exceedingly common\u00a0n<\/i>\u00ed\u00a0\u6ce5 (\"mud\").\u00a0 Adding that to the unusual \u9bed, we could for the nonce call it a \"mudfish\".<\/p>\n

In fact, there are such strange creatures, and I find them so fascinating that I will introduce them to you briefly here.<\/p>\n

Neochanna<\/b><\/i>\u00a0is a genus of\u00a0galaxiid<\/a>\u00a0fishes, commonly known as\u00a0mudfish<\/b>, which are native to\u00a0New Zealand\u00a0and south-eastern\u00a0Australia.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Mudfishes are found in wetlands, swamps, drains and springs. They typically live in still or slowly flowing, shallow water, with thick aquatic vegetation and overhead cover.
<\/sup><\/p>\n

…<\/sup><\/p>\n

Mudfish have the ability to\u00a0aestivate<\/a>\u00a0during droughts, seeking out moist areas under logs and vegetation so they do not dry out. While emersed (out of the water), they respire through\u00a0cutaneous respiration<\/a>, either through their skin, or by taking mouthfuls of air.\u200a<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Emersed mudfish frequently lie on their backs, possibly improving cutaneous respiration through the thinner abdominal skin, improving oxygenation of vital organs, or rehydrating skin on their upper surfaces.<\/p>\n

As wetland habitats dry out, the standing water may become stagnant and\u00a0hypoxic<\/a>. During this time mudfish will hang quietly at the surface with bubbles of air in their mouths to improve oxygen absorption. Some choose to leave hypoxic water before it dries out, and leave again if pushed back in.<\/p>\n

While emersed they are aware of their surroundings and are responsive to change in their environment: changing position, moving to damper areas, and congregating. Although they may be found deep below the surface in cavities and root holes, they do not appear to create burrows for the purpose of aestivation, with the exception of\u00a0N. cleaveri<\/a><\/i>. Under experimental drought conditions,\u00a0N. cleaveri<\/i>\u00a0created vertical shafts in the mud substrate, which allowed the fish to remain submersed as the free water evaporated. As the water within the shaft evaporated, the mudfish excavated horizontal tunnels where they awaited the return of the water. They do not feed while emersed, but may return to water at night to feed.<\/p>\n

(Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The actual existence of such bizarre fish has transfixed me because I previously knew about them only from a memorable passage in the work of the highly imaginative\u00a0Chuang Tzu \/ Zhuangzi<\/a>\u00a0(ca. 3rd c. BC)<\/span>, my favorite Chinese writer of ancient times.<\/p>\n

I suspect that \u9bed is a Cantonese name, inasmuch as the cuisine from that southern realm features many piscine species not familiar to outsiders.\u00a0 Digging (!) deeper, I discovered that the real name of the \u6ce5\u9bed in English is \"mottled spinefoot<\/a>\" and that its Linnaean designation is\u00a0Siganus fuscescens<\/i><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 (Wiktionary<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Cant.\u00a0nai4<\/sup>\u00a0maang1<\/sup>\u00a0\/ Mand.\u00a0n\u00edm\u011bng<\/p>\n

Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0has articles on:<\/p>\n