LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Catfish
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Catfish are a fascinating and diverse group of fish which have become hugely popular as aquarium fish. They range from the tiny Otocinclus to giants like the Red-Tailed catfish. All catfish possess one or more pairs of barbels, one of their most distinguishing features. Catfish are ... scaleless, and some are protected instead by 'armour' consisting of bony plates. The variety of size and form of catfish means there is a species to suit almost any aquarium setup.
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Catfish are a widely sought-after delicacy in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Many people that do not care for fish due to the distinct “fishy” flavor take to catfish because it lacks that essence. Catfish is a particularly popular dish in the American South, particularly in states such as Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Many of these states and others raise catfish commercially on catfish “farms” to sell to large food corporations, with Mississippi currently being the largest producer.
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Catfish have no scales; their bodies are often naked. In some species, the mucus-covered skin is used in cutaneous respiration, where the fish breathes through its skin.[14] In some catfishes, the skin is covered in bony plates called scutes; some form of body armor has evolved a number of times within the order. In loricarioids and in the Asian genus Sisor, the armor is primarily made up of one or more rows of free dermal plates. Similar plates are found in large specimens of Lithodoras. These plates may be supported by vertebral processes, as in scoloplacids and in Sisor, but the processes never fuse to the plates or form any external armor. By contrast, in the subfamily Doumeinae (family Amphiliidae) and in hoplomyzontines (Aspredinidae), the armor is formed solely by expanded vertebral processes that form plates.
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One thing that all known Catfish species have in common is the lack of scales. Another shared characteristic is the hollow leading ray on the dorsal and pectoral fins. This leading ray is very strong and the Catfish can use it to excrete a potent protein when the Catfish become frightened or annoyed. This protein will sting a lot, and Catfish species of the Family Plotosidae and the Genus Heteropneustes have a protein that is strong enough to injure a human. A person that has received a sting from one of these species can require hospital care. Catfish from the Family Malapteruridae distinguish themselves from all the other Catfish species since they are without this hollow leading ray and incapable of protein attacks.
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As the men of Catfish Row take up a game of craps, the women of the neighborhood gather to gossip about Crown's woman Bess. When Crown loses the game, he starts a fight, kills a man, and runs for his life, leaving Bess on her own. The crippled Porgy is the only person to help Bess, and the two fall in love, but not without trouble. Sportin' Life, the resident drug dealer on Catfish Row, repeatedly asks Bess to flee with him to New York City, and Crown continues to haunt Bess, turning up in the most unexpected places.
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Several years ago, after playing blues influenced rock for many years, Catfish made the decision to get back to the roots and concentrate on the blues. A trip to the Delta in 1998 was a turning point. During this tour, he visited many places, including Robinsville, Friars Point, Clarksdale, Greenwood, Indianola, the Dockery Plantation, and Helena. He met Bubba Smith at the Blues Corner in Helena, saw Sonny Boy's apartment there, and visited KFFA Radio, where Robert Jr. Lockwood and Sonny Payne started the King Biscuit Radio Show.
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