FECOP Top Ten Tarpon Fun Facts

Yes, fish in general are very cool, but some fish take the “cool factor” to a whole new level. Meet the Tarpon. We think you’ll agree that this is one of the most interesting fish in the sea.

There are nearly 28,000 different fish, but only two species of tarpon.
Tarpon can survive in both salt and fresh water being found in Lake Nicaragua and other fresh water habitats
They may shed up to 12 million eggs. The eggs hatch at sea and the eel like larvae drift in shore where they undergo a metamorphosis, shrinking to half the size previously attained and taking on the more recognizable features of the tarpon as they begin to grow again.
Fishes were in fact the first vertebrates on Earth and date back to the Paleozoic era — the first fossil evidence of Tarpon is 125 million years old making these fighters older than a TRex.
Tarpon can grow to be 8 feet long and weigh nearly 300 pounds
There was a 64-year-old tarpon that died in the Shedd Aquarium of Chicago in the 1990s.
Tarpon have a potential lifespan of around 150 yrs
Tarpon have amazing color vision with five types of cones cells in their eyes, they can see into the ultraviolet spectrum even further than birds and insects that have four types of cones cells in their eyes. In case you are wondering, humans only have three types of cone cells.
Throughout history, tarpon scales have been used as nail files, wall art and pulverized for medicinal purposes. In Brazil tarpon scales werre pulverized into a powder and mixed into tea as it is believed to help with asthma,” “Sadly, the plucked tarpon is most often left to die.” – so stick to your asthma inhaler
And the #1 Cool Fact About Tarpon -Tarpon breathe in oxygen from the water using gills, but they can also utilize oxygen from air in the atmosphere,” Guindon explained. “They have for long rows of lung-like material inside a swim bladder that allows this to happen.” Which explains their rolling behavior in waters with low oxygen levels