Bits & Pieces: Paddlefish Anatomy & Walleye Recruitment

Natural History: Third Eye of a Spoonbill

Every North American paddlefish, or spoonbill, has a hole in its head. Frequently unnoticed, but easy to see, it appears as an oval at the base of the bill: a light smudge in a live fish, a gaping aperture in the skull. For an adult paddlefish, having a 12- to 15-inch-long bill, the hole is typically almost a half-inch wide and more than three-quarters of an inch long, slightly larger than a man’s fingernail. It’s centered above and between the eyes and is readily observed on paddlefish taken...

Continue Reading