The Bombay duck or bummalo (Harpadon nehereus, Bengali: bamaloh, Gujarati: bumla, Marathi: bombil) is, despite its name, a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kutch in the Arabian Sea, and a small number are also found in the Bay of Bengal. The fish is often dried and salted before it is consumed. After drying, the odour of the fish is extremely powerful, and it must consequently be transported in air-tight containers. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Animals are a major group of organisms, classified as the kingdom Animalia or Meta­zoa. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Suborder Enchodontoidei   Dercetidae (extinct)   Cimolichthyidae (extinct)   Prionolepididae (extinct)   Enchodontidae (extinct)   Eurypholidae (extinct)   Halecidae (extinct)   Apateopholidae (extinct)   Ichthyotringidae (extinct) Suborder Giganturoidei   Giganturidae (telescopefishes) Suborder Aulopoidei   Aulopodidae (aulopus) Suborder Chlorophthalmoidei   Chlorophthalmidae (greeneyes)   Ipnopidae   Scopelarchidae (pearleyes)   Notosudidae (waryfishes) Suborder Alepisauroidei   Synodontidae (lizardfishes)   Pseudotrichonotidae   Paralepididae (barracudinas)   Anotopteridae (daggertooth)   Evermannelidae (sabertooth fishes)   Omosudidae   Alepisauridae... Genera (three, see text) The Synodontidae is a family of fish that are frequently referred to as the lizard fishes. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (February 15, 1762 - June 15, 1829) was a Scottish physician, zoologist and botanist living in India. ... Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) or Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language of East South Asia, evolved from Sanskrit and Prakrit. ... Gujarati can mean two distinct things: The Gujarati language is a language spoken in India and Pakistan, mostly in and around the Gujarat state. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Genera Bathysaurus Harpadon Saurida Synodus Trachinocephalus Synodontidae is a family of fishes known as lizardfishes. ... Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई) (pronounced ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and the most populous city of India, with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006)[1]. Mumbai is located on Salsette Island, off the west coast of Maharashtra. ... Kutch (Kuchchh) District, State of Gujarat Kutch (also spelled Cutch, Kachh, Kachch and even Kachchh) is a district of Gujarat state in western India. ... Map of the Arabian Sea. ... A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal. ... Odor receptors on the antennae of a Luna moth An odor is the object of perception of the sense of olfaction. ...

Etymology

The origin of the term "Bombay duck" is uncertain. Some authors advance the theory that, during the British Raj, the fish was often transported by rail after drying. The story goes that the train compartments of the Bombay Dak (in English, the Bombay Mail) would smell of the fish, consequently leading the British to euphemistically refer to the peculiar smell as the "Bombay Dak". A variant of the story is that, though the fish weren't transported on the train, it smelt strongly because of the rotting railway sleepers over which it travelled, and this was thought to resemble the smell of the drying fish. In either case, this was supposedly corrupted into "Bombay duck", although the likelihood of this origin is questionable. The British Empire at its zenith in 1919. ...

Others theorise that the Bombay duck was named in humorous tribute to another salted, dried fish: the Digby Chick.

In cuisine

Despite the rather unpleasant odour of the fish, it is often considered to be a delicacy by connoisseurs of Indian cuisine. If freshly caught, it is sometimes eaten fried in a batter; and in its dried form, it is commonly eaten in a curry. It is also prepared as a pickle. The bones of the fish are soft and easily chewable. A connoisseur (Fr. ... Indian cuisine is very diverse and is a result of Indias diverse population. ... Batter is a thick or thin liquid mixture, usually based on flour, water or milk, and egg. ... An Indian chicken curry A curry is any of a great variety of distinctively spiced dishes, best-known in Indian and Thai cuisine, but curry has been adopted into all of the mainstream cuisines of the Asia-Pacific area. ... Look up pickle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In cricket

Bombay duck is also the nickname for the Indian cricket player Ajit Agarkar, after scoring seven consecutive test ducks against Australia. Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar (born December 4, 1977 in Bombay - now Mumbai) is an Indian cricketer. ...

European Union restrictions on imports

The importing of Bombay duck was banned by the European Union in 1997, as concerns over its satisfaction of food safety regulations were advanced by senior health officials. However, after a vocal campaign by advocates of the fish, the European Union amended the regulations to permit imports of Bombay duck, provided that it is packaged according to certified standards. According to the BBC, consumption in the United Kingdom prior to the ban was over 13 tonnes per year. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ...

In religion

According to Hindu mythology, the Bombay duck was the only marine animal that did not help Rama in the building of the bridge between India and Sri Lanka. As a consequence, its bones were mashed to a pulp and the fish condemned. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Lord Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ...

References

• Harpadon nehereus (TSN 162425). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 April 2006.
• Harpadon nehereus. FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.