Fish Brain by David Holman-Hill Waters

 

Fish Brain…

Scientists have discovered the fossilised brain of a fish in a 319-million-year-old fossil, found at the Mountain Fourfoot coal mine in Lancashire, a CT scan of the fossil has revealed it contains the "oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain” about an inch long and belong to an early ray-finned fish that likely ate small crustaceans, cephalopods, and aquatic insects while swimming around estuaries.

Clinging to a small rock, a tiny mollusc paused momentarily in its procreating as two small ray-like fish gently wafted their way past and on up river.

“O’ course, iss all part o’ this evolution caper,” discoursed the slightly larger of the two piscians.

 At their approach, a cautious crustacean scuttled nervously beneath a ledge, one bead like eye keeping wary vigilance on their passage.

“How do,” offered the discourser, nodding toward the cowering crustacean. The crustacean retreated yet further beneath it’s ledge. “dead primitive life form them,” continued the speaker “no conversation, no cognisance o’ life as we know it, no idea o’ self determination come choices like what we ’as. No brain you see, just pure gut reaction. Sad really.”

His companion pursed her lips, a stream of bubbles emanated from them and floated gently upward to the surface.

“Eeh, do you have to do that?” queried the speaker “iss not very ladylike you know, we is supposed to be advanced, sophisticated, a species what ’as developed a brain.”

“Iss them Sea Slugs” replied his companion “they’re right tasty but they don’t half give me gyp wi’ me digestion.”

“I despair,” replied her escort “here we are, advanced intellects with a brain, capable of rational thought, the ability to make choices, and you, despite knowing them slugs is going to give you the colleywobbles and go eructin’ like that, still goes gorgein’ yourself on ’em like some primitive life form what don’t know no better. Why don’t you stick to them chewy little insects and tidgy baby crustaceans is beyond me.”

“Well, I likes ‘em, they’re tasty, an’ highly nutritious. That big Cephalopod up the estuary swears by them.”

“What’s she know, she hasn’t got the same delicate and sophisticated digestive tract as us; might be quite high on the evolutionary scale I grant you, very possibly next in line for a brain, but not in our class when it comes to reasoning or development. You wait girl, next thing you know it wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t go developing legs, go walkin’ on land, in an’ out the water whenever we feel like it. Possibilities is endless.”

They swam on in silence, mulling the notion, watching with but vague interest as various sub species scurried and scuttled, warily eyeing the pair, eager to avoid being a quick snack or the entrée to the duo’s lunch.

The silence was broken by a pronouncement.

“Eeh, I’ve been thinkin’, maybees I should leave m’ brain to posterity, stands to reason, what with all the thinkin’ I’ve done they’ll probably want to know in the future how and when it all star…

This pronouncement however was cut short by a terrible dread rumbling; beneath them the riverbed shuddered, and the water about them began to cloud and boil; shingle and small invertebrates buffeted them. High above the river a deluge of thick lavaed earth and rock fell heavily from the sky, cascading across the river, encasing and petrifying all beneath.