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What in the World Is This?
They say you are what you eat.
If that’s the case, we sure feel sorry for Oscar Lundahl!
Lundahl is a Norwegian fishing guide who works at Nordic Sea Angling. According to Oscar’s Instagram, he has caught some impressive fish over the years. His catches include tuna and halibut, but none are more interesting than a September 2019 catch.
Being likened to both a dinosaur and an alien, Lundahl’s catch looked like the giant, prehistoric lovechild of a moray eel and a fishing jig.
This almost sounds like the type of story you would see on the front page of the National Enquirer, but Lundahl’s catch seems completely plausible.
Is the “Dinosaur Fish” Actually a Dinosaur?
Unfortunately not…
Eagle-eyed anglers have noted that this “dinosaur fish” is most likely a ratfish, which is a relative of the shark and has been inhabiting waters for roughly 300 million years. The species’ Latin name, Chimaeras Monstrosa Linnaeus, takes part of its name from the Greek chimera, a mythical creature with a lion’s head, dragon wings, and a serpent’s tail.
Catching a chimera may have actually been less creepy…
So, why have you never seen one before?
Deep Sea Safety
The ratfish Lundahl reeled in is not only incredibly rare — it also resides thousands of feet below the surface.
It took Lundahl around 30 minutes to haul in his strange catch, largely because the fish was swimming at a depth of 2,600 feet.
That’s almost nine football fields!
Even better, once he caught the “dinosaur fish,” he ate it!
Lundahl even told The Sun that despite the fish being so ugly, it didn’t taste half bad. It is a bit like cod but tastier,” he said.
We are all for catch-and-release, and certainly don’t imagine that we would be trying any dinosaur fish in the near future…
Know of any amazing fishing stories that should be shared with the world? Let us know in the comments below.
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