Fish

[1] Particularly imperiled were sharks, Atlantic cod, Bluefin tuna, and Pacific sardines. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown. On May 15, 2003, the journal Nature reported that all large oceanic fish species worldwide had been so systematically over caught that fewer than 10% of 1950 levels remained. The remains were later moved, and lost during the Reformation. Overfishing is a threat to many species of fish. In 1191, monks at the Abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The annual yield from all fisheries worldwide is about 100 million tonnes. Geoffrey of Monmouth first identified Glastonbury with Avalon in 1133.

Fish can be found in almost all large bodies Catching fish for the purpose of increasing boredom and getting drunk is known as fishing. An early Welsh story links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a face-off between Arthur and the Celtic king, Melwas, who had apparently kidnapped Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. . In some versions of the Arthurian myth, Glastonbury is conceived of as the legendary island of Avalon. Endothermy, though metabolically costly, is thought to provide advantages such as increased contractile force of muscles, higher rates of central nervous system processing, and higher rates of digestion. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain; but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take); but many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey and Chalice Well. See also gigantothermy. The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the middle ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War (in legend the roundhead soldier who did it was blinded by a flying splinter).

The degree of endothermy varies from the billfish, which warm only their eyes and brain, to bluefin tuna and porbeagle sharks who maintain body temperatures elevated in excess of 20 °C above ambient water temperatures. Each year a sprig of thorn is cut by the local Church of England priest and sent to the Queen to feature on her Christmas table top. All sharks in the family Lamnidae – shortfin mako, long fin mako, white, porbeagle, and salmon shark – are known to have the capacity for endothermy, and evidence suggests the trait exists in family Alopiidae (thresher sharks). This hawthorn flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Endothermic teleosts (bony fishes) are all in the suborder Scombroidei and include the billfishes, tunas, and one species of "primitive" mackerel (Gasterochisma melampus). This is the explanation behind the existence of a hybrid hawthorn tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury. Certain species of fish maintain elevated body temperatures to varying degrees. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground, which flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (or Holy Thorn).

Other sea dwelling creatures, like dolphins, are actually mammals. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. Many types of aquatic animals named "fish", such as jellyfish and cuttlefish, are not true fish. William Blake believed in this legend and wrote the poem that became the words to the most patriotic of English songs, 'Jerusalem' (see And did those feet in ancient time). Fish come in different sizes, from the 16m (51 ft) whale shark to a 7 mm (just over 1/4 of an inch) long stout infantfish. The legend also says that earlier Joseph had visited Glastonbury along with Jesus as a Child. Taxonomically, fish are a paraphyletic group whose exact relationships are much debated; a common division is into the jawless fish (class Agnatha, 75 species including lampreys and hagfish), the cartilaginous fish (class Chondrichthyes, 800 species including sharks and rays), with the remainder classed as bony fish (class Osteichthyes). The Joseph of Arimathea legend relates to the idea that Glastonbury was the birthplace of Christianity in the British Isles, and that the first British church was built there at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 30 or so years after the death of Jesus.

There are over 27,000 species of fish, making them the most diverse group of vertebrates. Glastonbury is also said to be the centre of several ley lines. A fish is a poikilothermic (cold-blooded) water-dwelling vertebrate with gills. These myths concern Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Grail, and also King Arthur. Dipnoi (lungfish). The town is particularly notable for the myths and legends surrounding a nearby hill, rising up from the otherwise flat landscape of the Somerset Levels, which looks man-made (but isn't), Glastonbury Tor. Actinistia (coelacanths). .

Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish)