Shovel Head

The Shovel Head is an interesting creature, and by "interesting" I mean "very hard to classify". It seems to fall somewhere in between an eel and a snake while at the same time showing features of a lungfish, add to that the weird protuberance on the top of its head that doesn't appear to have any clear function and you have this living, breathing and swimming enigma. Taxonomy aside, one thing that most can agree with is that the Shovel Head is admired for its beauty being considered the center piece of many ornamental ponds of old royalties. However, those seeking to have one of these exotic fishes should keep in mind that it can be very aggressive to other fishes, including other shovel heads, and with a record length up to 3 meters long it require a big enough pond with enough vegetation for it to use as cover. The buyer should also keep in mind that there is still no estimation to its life expectancy, with the oldest know specimen reaching 122 years before being shot and killed.