One Unattractive Fish: Ratfish

[Tennesseer]

A face only a ratfish mother could love. It lives over 2,500 feet below the surface of the ocean off the coast of Norway.



Fisherman snags ‘alien’ fish that looks like something straight out of a horror movie

[weltschmerz]

"What big eyes you have!"

"The better to see you in the darkness of 2,500 feet below the the surface of the ocean."

[Wisconsin Beth]

I didn't think big googly eyes existed in nature.  Just plastics!

[Tennesseer]

Sept 18, 2019 9:32:53 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I didn't think big googly eyes existed in nature.  Just plastics!

[dannylion]

The fish doesn't care whether we like the way it looks.  The fish's physiology is suited to its environment.  Whether humans consider it "attractive" or "appealing" or "cute" is entirely irrelevant and has nothing to do with its inherent value, though sadly it will probably affect the fish's likelihood of survival if the preservation of its environment were to conflict with some perceived human economic benefit.   

[alabamagal]

The picture is photoshopped. Compare the picture to any real picture of a person holding a fish and you can tell the difference (I have years of experience with dead fish pictures). Even dead fish are slippery and you cannot hold them by just putting your hands underneath them. I am attaching a pic of my brother and niece holding real (and much smaller) fish. If you zoom on the pic in the article where the hands are you can really see that his hands are not holding the fish. Also any experienced fisherman would not be that close to the side of a boat with a slippery fish, it would wound up in the ovean

[Tennesseer]

Sept 18, 2019 11:49:15 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

The picture is photoshopped. Compare the picture to any real picture of a person holding a fish and you can tell the difference (I have years of experience with dead fish pictures). Even dead fish are slippery and you cannot hold them by just putting your hands underneath them. I am attaching a pic of my brother and niece holding real (and much smaller) fish. If you zoom on the pic in the article where the hands are you can really see that his hands are not holding the fish. Also any experienced fisherman would not be that close to the side of a boat with a slippery fish, it would wound up in the ovean

It appears to me he is balancing the fish on his hands.

Rabbit fish/Rat fish

Chimaera monstrosa, also known as the rabbit fish or rat fish, is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of fish in the Chimaeridae family.[1]

Appearance and behavior
The rabbit fish can grow up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long, and weigh 2.5 kg (5.5 lb).[2] It grows slowly, and can get up to forty years old.[3] The color is brown, with marmor-white stripes in all directions. The eyes are big with a green lens. The lateral line can be seen clearly on the head. On the dorsal fin, the rabbit fish has a mildy venomous spine that can cause painful stings.[2]

The rabbit fish is oviparous, typically found in small groups and feeds on bottom-living invertebrates.[2]

Distribution and habitat
The rabbit fish lives at depths from 40 to 1,663 m (131–5,456 ft) with most records between 300 and 500 m (980–1,640 ft).[1] They generally occur deeper in the southern part of the range than in the northern.[2] Sick or dying fish are sometimes observed in shallow water. Its distribution is the northeastern Atlantic, from Morocco north to northern Norway and Iceland. They are also found in the Mediterranean, although rare in the eastern part and not known from the northern and central Adriatic Sea.[1] Records from South Africa are considered questionable.[2]

Rabbit fish

[NoNamePerson]

Did he cut off the fins or whatever they are called? And the antenna or at least that is what it looks like in picture posted. Interesting fish though.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 18, 2019 13:44:23 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Did he cut off the fins or whatever they are called? And the antenna or at least that is what it looks like in picture posted. Interesting fish though.

Are you talking about the dorsal fin at the top of the fish's body? Like the dorsal fin on a killer whale? If yes, the picture in the opening post, the dorsal fin looks flattened to me as compared to the picture of the rabbit/rat fish picture I posted above your reply.

Here's another, different picture of the guy holding the fish. You can see his right hand fingertips through the bottom this 'skin' of the fishes tail.

[alabamagal]

You cannot balance a dead fish on the end of your fingertips. The description someone posted says ratfish are up to 10 lbs. the size in relationship to his body would be at least 20 lbs. he probably caught one, but there is still some photoshopping going on.