This strange-looking specimen was caught off Portland Beach in 1927.
Is it a fish? Is it a hedgehog? Well, actually, it is both.
It is a sea hedgehog, one of only four to have been found off the south coast.
The species goes under several different names, some of which are also used to describe sea urchins.
They are also known as porcupine fish and are close relatives to the pufferfish, although the former has spines.
This specimen was found off Portland Bill in 1927 and seems to have been caught in the middle of its self-defence pose.
Sea hedgehogs, like pufferfish, have the ability to inhale large amounts of water or air to inflate themselves, making them almost double their normal width.
As a result, the range of species that can eat them is reduced to those who can actually get their mouths across them.
The sea hedgehog has been on display at Portland Museum.
