She grew up in California, Canada, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. She also had a cute little puppy named Dexter, a Bichon Frisse, described as “fat poodles” and “happy little white dog.”ĭent spent her childhood moving quite often. She adored the little guys, possibly another reason why she loves her job so much. As a child, she had an aquarium filled with fish named after “The Dukes of Hazard” characters. Captured by its complex and coordinated behavior, she has loved every moment of her career in the lab.īut even before her freshman year, she still had an attraction to fish. She immediately grew attached to the fascinating intricacy of cell structure. Dent’s love for science began in her 9th grade science biology lab. It’s “dark charcoal grey coloring” is perfect for blending in with their surroundings, since they aren’t very fast.ĭr. It is small, but similar to the sperm whale. Her favorite kind of mormyrid is commonly known as Baby Whale. Naturally, she was fascinated with the creature’s unique character, and launched her research career. If it weren’t for her time as a researcher, she would have never experienced the singing fish the way she did.ĭent first heard of the creatures while studying for her masters of science degree at the Sam Houston State University in Texas. The males sing to the females by vibrating their swim bladder-a sack in their abdomen that fills with gas.ĭent never had the opportunity to work in the field in Africa, but was always perfectly content in the lab. They submerged a hydrophone into the water and heard their song. When Dent first heard them she was in the lab with a colleague, and they heard a strange noise emitting from the tank. The sound made is clicking “like Morse Code, with each fish having a unique sound, like our voices,” she added.Įven more fascinating is that these creatures are sonic, meaning they sing. “Imagine a heart monitor sending a pattern of pulses,” Dent explains. Mormyrids also use their charge to communicate. No wonder Dent is so fascinated with them.
When they get too close to an object, it distorts the shape of the field, allowing them to know the location of that object. They generate an electric field around them, like a force field. In fact, it is so weak that you could stick your hand in the water and not feel the electricity. These fish are electric, but their current isn’t used for defense. Native to Africa, mostly in rivers, the mormyrid (pronounced more-my-rid) can also be found in lakes and other fresh water bodies. A specie of what? Well a fish, of course, arguably the strangest and most unique fish known to mankind. But did you know she was also an expert on the uncommon specie of mormyrids. Professor Laurieanne Dent is a biologist and teacher who joined the Pepperdine faculty this year.
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