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 B次元官网网址� which has since been identified as a ratfish, a glowing and boneless specimen normally found deep under the sea B次元官网网址� to social media.

B次元官网网址淐an anyone tell me wtf this thing is?B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址渘uclear fish,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淕odzilla babyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渁lien fish thatB次元官网网址檚 supposed to be in the dark deep depths of the ocean.B次元官网网址�

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: itB次元官网网址檚 a ratfish.

B次元官网网址淗ydrolagus colliei,B次元官网网址� said Powell after viewing the images on Wednesday.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a male,B次元官网网址� he said, pointing to a set B次元官网网址渃laspersB次元官网网址� protruding from its underside.

The ratfish, a relative to the shark, has a skeleton made of cartilage B次元官网网址� it B次元官网网址渄oesnB次元官网网址檛 have a bone in its body,B次元官网网址� he said. ItB次元官网网址檚 not a very common sight on the shore, because itB次元官网网址檚 a deep-water fish.

The species doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a swim bladder, so if it doesnB次元官网网址檛 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.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e beautiful, to see them underwater and see them swimming,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e just gorgeous because of their iridescence and that large eye, and they really do glow.B次元官网网址�

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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.

B次元官网网址淚 believe it fully regained strength and swam away,B次元官网网址� Bell said in a Facebook message. B次元官网网址淢ade me feel pretty good.B次元官网网址�

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 itB次元官网网址檚 considered a , according to the International Union for Conservation of NatureB次元官网网址檚 Red List of Threatened Species.

ItB次元官网网址檚 from a group of fish known as chimaera or chimera B次元官网网址� 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.

B次元官网网址淩atfish are a common bycatch (about 700 tonnes per year) within the commercial trawl fishery for skates,B次元官网网址� a type of ray, according to the document. B次元官网网址淪ince ratfish are of no commercial value, they are discarded at sea.B次元官网网址�

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.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely prehistoric looking, isnB次元官网网址檛 it?B次元官网网址�

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