It’s a weIrd world

„ fishermen catch 'living fossil' AN ultra-rare 'living fossil' beast, older than the dinosaurs, was caught by stunned fishermen.

A father and son duo got the shock of their lives when they reeled in a gigantic beast, as they admitted they had no idea what it was as they were pulling it into their boat.

The pair, from the United States, ended up snagging in the record-breaking fish during their annual Thanksgiving fishing trip on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Alabama, last November.

Keith Dees and his son huntley were already on a roll, after begging several several redfish and largemouth bass, before Dees snagged something far bigger, report Daily Star.

The dad posted about his incredible find on social media, saying that he reeled it in a mystery fish as "fast as I could".

Writing on Facebook, Dees said: "About 11:30 we decided to fish one more spot. I made a cast and about half way back to the boat my chatterbait just went slack.

"Reeling as fast as I could, I got it tight just before I saw a big fish swim by my trolling motor. had no idea what it was until it surfaced after about 30 minutes."

And speaking to Outdoor Alabama, the official website of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Dees said he thought it was just another redfish at first.

"We were laughing and joking what I had," he said.

"Then I thought it might be a big black drum."

It took the pair about two hours of fightabout ing with the aquatic creature, before they finally managed to get it up to the boat.

What they pulled back in wasn't a redfish or a drum, but an alligator gar - a terrifying-looking freshwater fish dating back over 100million years.

Reportedly, this fish was still alive 35million years before the last dinosaurs went