These colourful fish are very popular in gourmet circles.

At the museum instead of being part of a gourmet menu

Opahs are similar to Sunfish due to their flat and nearly circular body shape. Both fish from the Atlantic Ocean can be seen together in a display case in the St Catherine's Hall at the MEERESMUSEUM. Adult Opahs can reach a body length of up to 1.80 metres. Despite its imposing size, they are not a large-scale edible fish, because they usually travel as a loner through the seas. Because of its tasty flesh, they considered a delicacy among chefs and gourmets.

This special circumstance is the reason why the Opahs is in the MEERESMUSEUM. Instead of being served as a delicacy at the banquet of a well-known holiday park on the island of Rügen, this example took a slightly different route. It was handed over to the Museum in Stralsund. After the taxidermists on site had made a model of the unusual fish, this one eventually followed – to the great pleasure of the Museum staff – his own kind into a cooking pan. However, the shape of the body served as a template for the exhibit on display now.

Now, quite certainly not all exhibits also end up on the dining table. That makes the Opah a rare exception. Nevertheless, many other exhibits in the displays were made as a model of an existing animal. A further method of exhibit preparation is the use of dermoplastic to create a model of the animal shape under the original skin. So-called plastination models, where the body fluid is replaced by other, durable materials, are being tested in the German Oceanographic Museum.