Most of us have a mental image of what we think a fish should look like. You know, slimy, has scales, fins and basically resembles Charlie the Tuna.

Well, the Gulf of Mexico has some fish in it that just don’t fit the bill when it comes to that picture.

For instance, the ocean sunfish is one of the oddest creatures you’ll ever see. These are very large lazy fish, they live far from shore and look like they are from another world. Their range is worldwide in tropical and temperature oceans with three species including the ocean sunfish living in the Gulf.

The ocean sunfish has two teeth, a flat broad stubby tail and has a compressed body like a flounder with one eye on each side of its body. It has two huge fins just forward of the tail pointing in opposite directions. They can reach seven feet from nose to tail and the same distance from one fin tip to the other. Their weight can reach around 2,000 pounds.

The ocean sunfish just lazily floats around on the surface eating mostly jellyfish or anything else that it happens to run into. It’s not equipped to chase down prey that moves much faster than a jellyfish. The only way you’ll ever see one of these guys is if it washes up dead on the beach or you’re out in the Gulf near the 100-fathom curve and get lucky.

The ribbonfish, which is also called the Atlantic cutlass fish, has no scales. Its body is bright silver, elongated and flat. Small cutlass fish are occasionally used as bait when trolling for king mackerel. The larger ones are notorious bait stealers, using a mouth full of sharp barbed teeth, which can easily tear off a hooked fish before the angler can react.

Some anglers say the ribbonfish is good eating if you deep-fry its entire gutted and headless body. It ranges from Virginia to Brazil and in the Gulf is most abundant throughout coastal Louisiana.

In Alabama, we commonly catch ribbonfish in shrimp trawls and on hook and line. They get to three feet long and are known to reach four feet.

Oarfish are similar in shape to the ribbonfish with four or five dorsal fin rays sitting on top of their head like a crown. But, they get much larger — up to one and a half feet in width and 25 feet long at the largest. They have no teeth and no swim bladder.

It has been said that this fish is responsible for many of the legendary sea monster tales. They’re up near the surface at night out in deep warm water, which is where phosphorescent marine algae are at their peak.

The eerie green glow from the algae that surrounds an oarfish writhing in a net would make most anyone think that they had pulled up a monster right out of a Greek legend.

Another fish is so ugly it’s shocking. The stargazers have a thick body that’s mostly a large wide head with some very sharp dorsal spines and they rarely reach a foot in length.

Besides the spines, this species has a nasty little surprise in store for anyone who picks it up.

In the clear spot between their eyes they have an organ that generates electricity; it won’t give you a “nasty shock” like the torpedo ray but you’ll remember it the next time you reach for one.

They’re an inshore species and can commonly be taken in shrimp trawls or found under rocks and in or around crevasses.

It has been a rite of passage to have the rookie biologist pick one up with his bare hand.

Think Global – Act Local!

Dr. “Skip” Lazauski can be seen on the television show “Eco-Bites”, which airs on Mediacom’s channel 14 and Smartel’s channel 4. To reach Dr. Lazauski for questions and comments, send e-mail to IchiOrca@yahoo.com. For more information, see his Web site, drskiponline.com.