All Right You Dirty Ratfish

Actually Ratfish are not dirty at all. What is a Ratfish you may ask. Well a Ratfish is a little known member of the Shark Family.

Ratfishes share many of the characteristics of sharks and rays, including a cartilaginous skeleton and a ventral mouth. They have a single gill opening on each side and the first dorsal fin is preceded by a spine.

Ratfishes have a short, rounded snout and a long, pointed caudal fin. They look more like a fighter plane than a shark. It’s second dorsal fin extends from just in front of the pelvic fins to almost to the origin of the caudal fin. Males have a club shaped process on the head just in front of the eyes. Ratfishes are entirely marine, and most occur offshore at great depths. There is but a single species seen in North America.
The Spotted Ratfish, Hydrolagus colliei is found from Southeast Alaska to Bahia San Sebastiàn Vizcaino in Baja California; there are also isolated populations found in the upper gulf of California. They prefer cruising over soft bottoms, and can go as deep as 500 fathoms.

Elongate, head large, tapering to slender caudal fin; bronze above, with metallic hues, silvery below with numerous white spots; eyes green. Teeth pliable, incisor like. Males have spiny, club-shaped process on head, sharp retracting clasping organs in front of pelvic fins, and slender claspers with expanded ends adjacent to each pelvic fin base. First dorsal preceded by long, venomous spines; second dorsal has undulating outline. Lateral line wavy, several branches on the head; no scales.

Ratfishes deposit their eggs, which are fertilized internally, in elongate, ridged, brown cases during the late summer. These distinctive fishes feed on clams, crabs, shrimps, and fishes. They are not sought by either sport or commercial fishers. Care should be taken in handling a Ratfish, as the venomous spines can cause a painful wound, and the clasping organs are quite sharp. (Audubon)

Work Cited:
The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales, and Dolphins. 1983, Knopf, Inc, New York.

Last updated 30 June 2003, 2138, BL