How about Bowfin, Sturgeon, or Paddlefish? These almost sound a bit like what you've described, actually live in America, and under certain circumstances may even be easily caught by hand.
Bichirs & Snakeheads are another possibility further down the list.
If I had to guess, and I guess I do, then my guess would be Sturgeon, on account of the bottom-feeding mouth under the pointy snout.
I saw a weird little fish once when I was a kid. It was squatty and black like a tadpole, but it had fins. In every way it looked like a little tadpole with fishlike fins. It has bugged me for years that to this day I can't figure out what it was. ( Dunn, North Carolina ) Have you ever wished that you could go back in time, possessing your own body Quantum-Leap style, while knowing everything you do today? I wish that a LOT! One of the first things I would do is go back and see if I could figure out what those things were.
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