A cooked fish appeared to ‘come back to life’ as it was caught on camera jumping off a plate at a Chinese restaurant. The ‘zombie’ fish flicks its tail before leaping out of a bowl of vegetables and onto the table.
A group of shocked diners got up from their seats as the fish continues to ‘breathe’ next to the rest of their food.
According to IFL Science, the movement comes from a chemical reaction that stimulates the fish’s muscle tissues. The site said: ‘For some time after death, muscle motor neurons within these tissues still have some membrane potential. ‘The fish’s brains are very much dead, but most of their tissue is very much alive.
Even though the brain function is missing, the tissues will still respond to stimuli.’ Adding salt (or soy sauce) can trigger muscle spasms in very recently deceased fish. The salt triggers contractions of the muscle.