[Times photo: Kevin German]
Dr. Ramon Ruiz-Carus, state ichthyology collection manager, unfurls an oarfish, which is thought to swim vertically in the deep oceans. The specimen is but one of the many strange beasts he has preserved.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The calls come a couple of times a year from people convinced they've caught a sea serpent.

Ramon Ruiz-Carus takes them with enthusiasm. Typically, what people have found is an oarfish. The ribbonlike fish can be 20 feet long; and while they are certainly are rare, they are not alien creatures.

It is Ruiz-Carus' job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to identify and gather Florida fish specimens -- 25,000 jars of which are stored in his St. Petersburg laboratory. His title is ichthyology collection manager, but you could call him the Weird Fish Guy.

The oddities, either preserved in alcohol or documented in archives, are impressive.

There's a Chinese scholar fish -- which has a violet body; golden eyes; and a nasty, toothy snarl. There is a poisonous lion fish, the first ever found in Florida, which was taken near Jacksonville earlier this year. And there are documented catches of sawfish, a rare species that is 10- to 18-feet long at maturity and has a bill that looks like a hedge trimmer.

"He's the guy to turn to when you have no idea what you've got," said Jason Seitz, a marine biologist who works for Collier County and is studying sawfish in Florida. "He knows so much about fish, it's amazing."

[Times photo: Kevin German]
In the darkness of the sea, this fish flashes like a traffic light, with green and yellow light emitting from specialized spots on its skin, called photophores.

If you've found these or similarly strange fish, he'd be pleased to hear from you -- as would Seitz, who is compiling a sawfish database. Research money is scarce for anything other than commercially valuable fish or loveable mammals such as manatees. Ruiz-Carus says his most valuable research tools are the people who ply Florida waters with boats and fishing rods.

"We're glad because that way we can put together the pieces of the puzzle," said Ruiz-Carus, whose office is in the Florida Marine Research Institute complex in St. Petersburg's Bayboro area. "In some cases, we know nothing but the name."

[Times photo: Kevin German]
This fierce looking animal is a long nose lancetfish, unique in the oceans because of the long fangs in the center of its mouth.

The collection is used by scientists and students who want to study or identify Florida fish. The FMRI fish collection is the second-largest in the state, the largest being an assemblage of several university collections stored at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

Ruiz-Carus works closely with the folks at the Gainesville museum, sharing information and specimens.

Last week, Ruiz-Carus was excited to learn that an uncommonly large, sharp tail mola had been found in the Keys. He couldn't get the four or five people necessary to drive down and pick it up, so he called museum officials in Gainesville to see if they would be interested in the specimen. It turned out the fish also was too large for the state museum.

"Five hundred pounds of mola is a lot of mola," said George Burgess, coordinator of museum operations. "We don't have the capability of preserving that thing intact."

Burgess said they might be able to take the fish skeleton.

Along with the specimens impressive in size, the FMRI collection encompasses the deadly.

"Check this out," said Ruiz-Carus. "This is one of the most poisonous fish in the world. It can kill a small person."

Ruiz-Carus held up a jar containing several stonefish, which were confiscated from a Tampa fish importer several years ago. After one of the fish was dead, a state worker picked it up, pricking his finger. The worker was in the hospital for two days with breathing problems, Ruiz-Carus said.

[Times photo: Kevin German]
Among the smaller mysteries Dr. Ramon Ruiz-Carus contemplates are these eggs from an unknown species of sea catfish.

And there are more examples from the illegal pet trade: a venomous sea snake confiscated in 1999 from a Miami pet store. The big danger, Ruiz-Carus said, is that people will tire of their exotic pets and release them.

Last month, he said, he dragged a net through the Hillsborough River, capturing multiple specimens of mailed catfish, South American fish also called curritos. He got babies on up to adults, leading Ruiz-Carus to believe that these armored catfish, commonly sold in pet stores as tank cleaners, are spawning.

"That is one of the major problems we are seeing here in Florida," he said.

Merely getting information about the circumstances under which certain fish are spotted can help researchers, as well, Ruiz-Carus said.

The odd-looking oarfish, he said, typically is a deep-water fish. They are thought to swim upright, like a sea horse, propelled by an undulating fin that runs down the center of their back. Adults are huge, 16 to 23 feet long; however, most oarfish that are captured are babies, only 8 or 11 feet long. And they typically show up in the winter, on the beaches of Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

Ruiz-Carus thinks the juveniles might get caught in a winter current, or an inversion, in which deep water is thrust to the surface bringing immature oarfish with it.

Because so little is known about these odd creatures, much is left to speculation. More information about oarfish and other rare species would be welcome, he said.

"Please give us a call, even if you want just to show that you have something big or different," said Ruiz-Carus. "Sometimes that's how we learn about weird things."

Share your fish tales

Ramon Ruiz-Carus, state ichthyology collection manager, can be reached at (727) 896-8626 or by e-mail at ramon.ruiz-carus@fwc.state.fl.us.

Jason Seitz, marine biologist, is studying sawfish and would like to hear if you've caught or seen one. He can be reached at (239) 732-2505 or jasonseitz@colliergov.net.

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