When I think of Idaho, ratfish are not what immediately come to mind. Spuds and the ghastly belt of agricultural reek that keeps me holding my breath whenever I speed past Idaho Falls on the interstate, sure, but not strange cartilaginous fish. A new exhibit at the the Idaho Museum of Natural History is aiming to change that.

Over 270 million years ago, the area that eventually would be called Pocatello, Idaho was an ancient sea that hosted an exceptionally enigmatic fish whose mystery has only just started to truly unravel. These archaic ratfish are known almost entirely from their jaws – whorls of teardrop-shaped teeth first described from finds in Russia, but later