Talk about a fish out of water!
An odd-looking fish spotted on Vancouver Island lit up social media this week.
On Tuesday, Campbell River area resident Rachel Bell posted images of the shark-like creature 香蕉视频直播� which has since been identified as a ratfish, a glowing and boneless specimen normally found deep under the sea 香蕉视频直播� to social media.
香蕉视频直播淐an anyone tell me wtf this thing is?香蕉视频直播� Bell said in the Facebook post.
In the photos, the two-foot long fish appears to be writhing around in shallow water on a sandy beach. It has bulging turquoise-coloured eyes and white spots covering its long, slender rat-like tail.
More than 70 people from the Facebook community soon responded, most of them in agreement that it was a ratfish or spotted ratfish, known among scientists as Hydrolagus colliei.
Some also suggested 香蕉视频直播渘uclear fish,香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播淕odzilla baby香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渁lien fish that香蕉视频直播檚 supposed to be in the dark deep depths of the ocean.香蕉视频直播�
Dr. Jim Powell, a fish expert and CEO of the Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences in Campbell River, examined the photos for the Mirror and confirmed what dozens of online observers already knew: it香蕉视频直播檚 a ratfish.
香蕉视频直播淗ydrolagus colliei,香蕉视频直播� said Powell after viewing the images on Wednesday.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a male,香蕉视频直播� he said, pointing to a set 香蕉视频直播渃laspers香蕉视频直播� protruding from its underside.
The ratfish, a relative to the shark, has a skeleton made of cartilage 香蕉视频直播� it 香蕉视频直播渄oesn香蕉视频直播檛 have a bone in its body,香蕉视频直播� he said. It香蕉视频直播檚 not a very common sight on the shore, because it香蕉视频直播檚 a deep-water fish.
The species doesn香蕉视频直播檛 have a swim bladder, so if it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 swim, it sinks, he said.
He declined to speculate on how it ended up on the beach, but said it might have something to do with its health or age.
Powell, a scuba diver, said the glowing fish are often spotted underwater at night.
香蕉视频直播淭hey香蕉视频直播檙e beautiful, to see them underwater and see them swimming,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey香蕉视频直播檙e just gorgeous because of their iridescence and that large eye, and they really do glow.香蕉视频直播�
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Bell told Black Press that she snapped the photos around noon on Jan. 14 while walking her dogs at Saratoga Beach, near Campbell River.
The fish was about two feet long, she said, and it appeared to have washed up on the shore alive. Someone tried to roll it back into the sea, and Bell pushed it into deeper water.
To avoid a spike on its top dorsal fin, she used her gumboots and the plastic handle of a retractable leash to move the fish, she said.
香蕉视频直播淚 believe it fully regained strength and swam away,香蕉视频直播� Bell said in a Facebook message. 香蕉视频直播淢ade me feel pretty good.香蕉视频直播�
| Vancouver Island resident Rachel Bell captured this photo of a spotted ratfish before pushing the odd-looking creature back into the water on Jan. 14 at Saratoga Beach, near Campbell River. |
The spotted ratfish, which has a venomous spine, occurs throughout the northeast coastal sections of the Pacific Ocean, from southern Alaska to Baja California, at .
Its numbers are increasing, and it香蕉视频直播檚 considered a , according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature香蕉视频直播檚 Red List of Threatened Species.
It香蕉视频直播檚 from a group of fish known as chimaera or chimera 香蕉视频直播� a name about a creature that resembles a .
The spotted ratfish is the only type of chimaera in Canadian Pacific fisheries waters, according to a published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2007.
香蕉视频直播淩atfish are a common bycatch (about 700 tonnes per year) within the commercial trawl fishery for skates,香蕉视频直播� a type of ray, according to the document. 香蕉视频直播淪ince ratfish are of no commercial value, they are discarded at sea.香蕉视频直播�
The are also called ghost sharks. The earliest chimaera fossil specimen, a skull, is dated to about 280 million years ago, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The ancient lineage of the ratfish shows, Powell said.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 definitely prehistoric looking, isn香蕉视频直播檛 it?香蕉视频直播�
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