Have you ever seen a fish wearing a feather? Well, now you can…at least when you translate a newly named species of fish!

The sicklefin redhorse is a fish with a FIERY red tail and an olive-green body, and the species is now known as Moxostoma ugidatli. Ugidatli (pronounced ooh-gee-dot-lee) is a Cherokee word meaning “it wears a feather.” The name refers to the feather-shaped dorsal fin that sometimes stays visible above the water in the rivers of the mountains in Georgia and North Carolina.

The sicklefin redhorse has been well known to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, but Western scientists have only known about the shiny fish for the last three decades.

“We felt it important to honor the Cherokee name as it occurs on the unceded territory of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and it is right and proper to refer to the species using the name spoken by its

true discoverers,” said Jonathon Armbruster, an

Auburn University biologist who led the effort to formalize the fish’s official description.

“The tribe was a part of the process, not simply a recipient of goodwill. That’s significant,” said Caleb Hickman, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and supervisory biologist with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The 2-foot-long ugidatli has been an important food source to the region’s native tribes for centuries. The fish has sometimes been referred to as the “salmon of the South” because it has numerous similarities to Pacific salmon.

Unfortunately, the construction of dams across the tribe’s ancestral territory affected the fish and their ability to travel along their usual routes. That construction, along with pollution and nonnative, invasive species, have all been factors in a dwindling sicklefin redhorse population. Scientists estimate that there are only about 2,000 of the fish swimming in a few rivers.

While they are classified as threatened in North Carolina and endangered in Georgia, the hard work of the Sicklefin Redhorse Conservation Committee has helped to keep the feather-wearing fish off the federal endangered species list.

Arizona Bans Cell Phones in Class

Governor Katie Hobbs made a special appearance in the gym of Pueblo High on Aug. 7. She did a ceremonial signing of a bill that bans the use of cell phones and other wireless devices in classrooms throughout Arizona.

Many schools in the state already RESTRICT student cell phone use on campus. The others need to have a plan in place by the end of September that follows the new law.

The law, which was actually signed in April by the governor, bans the use of cell phones and wireless devices in classrooms with exceptions for emergencies or medical purposes. It also requires that schools set up ways for students and parents to communicate when the phones are put away.

Bear Essential News asked two of its Young Reporters what they thought about the new law. They were already familiar with such restrictions at their schools.

Sierra Stanley, a 6th-grader at Leman Academy, agrees with the measure. “We have to keep them in our backpacks and locker. It works really well,” she says. Sierra has an iPad, which also falls under the new law. In the classroom, “we aren’t allowed to do that—have to do that without a computer,” she explains.

Sierra points out that the ban helps prevent students from cheating. At the end of the school day, students are allowed to use their devices to make calls, take pictures and play games.

Jason Pluta, a new student at Mansfeld Magnet Middle School, only agrees with the new ban in part. He keeps his cell phone on silent in his backpack. Students aren’t allowed to use their devices from the starting bell to the ending bell. Jason and his parents think this may be going too far. Instead, he thinks students should be able to use them at lunch and during passing periods. “I don’t agree with it, and I think it should be less restrictive. Most parents do, too,” he says.