Do fish yawn? | Notes and Queries

Do fish yawn?

• THE WORLD which fish inhabit does not require them to watch cricket matches or listen to the speeches of William Hague, so it is unlikely that they ever feel the urge to yawn. In any event, they would be unable to, since yawning (a slow deep inspiration followed by a faster expiration) needs both lungs and a diaphragm - gills just wouldn't do.

  Michael Hutton, Camberwell, London.

• IT IS SAID that fish have a memory of just one second - if this is true, surely they are never bored enough to yawn?

  Emma Lewis, Colchester, Essex.

• Fishing makes you yawn, does that help?

  David Meikle, London

• Anchovies yawn. I saw them in the aquarium at Cannery Row, Monterey. Apparently it is how they feed, although they looked pretty bored to me.

  Stuart Young, Penrith, UK