A fisherman was shocked to find this creature that resembled something from another planet. Oscar Lundahl almost jumped out of his fishing boat when he saw the strange-looking species with bulbous eyes. The ratfish’s Latin name, Chimaeras Monstrosa Linnaeus, is derived from a Greek mythological beast with a dragon’s tail and a lion’s head. The odd animals are rarely caught since they live in deep water. Their big eyes may have developed to help them see in such deep, dark places.

 

 

 

The little creature was accidentally caught by Oscar, a 19-year-old fishing guide with Nordic Sea Angling, off the coast of northern Norway. He continued, “We were fishing for blue halibut, which is a rare species around five kilometers off the coast. I had four hooks on one line, and towards the end, I felt something enormous. It took me approximately 30 minutes to reel it in because it was 800 meters deep. I was thrilled to see two halibuts on two of the hooks, but then I became aware of an unexpected development. I had never seen anything like it before, and it was amazing. Simply put, it seemed peculiar—almost dinosaur-like. My coworker understood what it was, but I had no idea.

The fish have been around for 300 million years, preferring to eat crabs and marine snails and being harmless to humans. The quick change in pressure caused the ratfish to perish as it was being brought up from the sea. Oscar cooked the fillets in a pan with butter after he got them home. He said, “Despite its awful appearance, it was extremely good.” It’s considerably better than cod yet similar.