It should be noted that the local population occasionally caught these creatures and had even come up with a name for them, gombes­sa, which can be translated as “bitter fish.” The residents knew that it was nearly inedible (it was consumed due to the belief that its meat helped to cope with malaria symptoms), although it was possible to make something like sandpaper from their extremely strong and bristly scales. So for the local fishermen, perhaps, it was not such a curiosity; nevertheless, they called the curator of the local East London Museum, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. The museum had a standing arrangement with the fishermen, requesting that they report all unusual findings.