The best times of the former basketball series champion Brose Bamberg are over, at least for the time being. Once upon a time, however, the venue of their games, the Brose Arena, caused awe among opponents as a Franconian hell.
If you like, the Franconian hell has since shifted about 7,600 kilometers as the crow flies to the south-west. Namely in a body of water in the Duck Creek Conservation Area in the US state of Missouri. It is highly disturbing to read what the US news channel CBS headlined: “Invasive ‘franconfish’ that can survive for days on land spotted in Missouri: ‘They’re beasts'”.
Really sounds like hell. But one by one. So: The Franconian fish, which actually bears the name Argus snakehead fish or northern snakehead fish in German-speaking countries, comes from East Asia. There it is considered a delicacy, in the USA it has been an invasive species for years. It is named after the snake-like shape of the head and body; the latter can grow up to a meter long. Juveniles can move on land, and adult snakefish can breathe out of water thanks to a suprabranchial organ. The sharp-toothed Franconian fish are referred to as beasts because they have no natural enemies – and instead are just such for numerous fish, amphibians and insects. On top of that, they are considered aggressive.
A Department of Science agency under the US Department of the Interior is calling on all anglers who have hooked a Franconian fish not to release it back into the wild under any circumstances. But to kill him by frostbite.
The only question that remains is: Why the nickname Frankenfisch? In any case, the people from northern Bavaria are not known for their snake-like stature. The name is probably due to the US horror film Frankenfish (again borrowing from Frankenstein), in which genetically engineered monster fish from the swamps of Louisiana maul nearby villagers. Of course, such conditions do not prevail in Missouri. The southwest shift of hell is probably exaggerated and maybe even something like a sign to the Brose basketball players: Franconian hell will remain in Bamberg.