Professional anglers are difficult to confound with a fish. However, a charter boat skipper admits to being puzzled by a capture made in the deep seas off Southeast Australia, describing the catch as the "ugliest" critter.
His catch was captured on camera with bulging green eyes, teeth that resembled black saws, and skin that looked as though it had been burned over an open flame. It also had a bait fish dangling from its jaws as it surfaced.
SNSM rescuers, fishermen and sailors sail their boat on June 10, 2019 in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in tribute to three rescuers killed on June 7, when a SNSM vessel capsized in rough seas as a giant storm pummelled the country's Atlantic coast. - The SNSM team had been attempting to help a fishing boat which was struggling in the giant swell caused by storm Miguel, which was packing winds of up to 120 kilometres an hour (75 mph). In late morning, a boat from the SNSM capsized 800 metres from the coast around Les Sables-d'Olonne with seven people on board. Three of them died while four managed to swim to shore, the statement added.
Ugliest Fish Found in Australia
Off the shore of his native Bermagui, around 240 miles south of Sydney, professional fisherman Jason Moyce, also known online as Trapman Bermagui, snagged the enigmatic beast.
Because neither he nor the charter boat captain knew what it may be, he shared a picture of the beast on social media and asked for help to identify the bizarre sea creature.
It resembles the Upside Down from the Stranger Things series with its mottled pink-gray hue. Its large mouth, which takes up most of its face, has rows of razor-sharp teeth, and its eyeballs protrude from the sides of its head. It's possible to still see the bait fish in the fish's mouth.
"It weighed 4kg [8.8lbs] and was captured in water 540m [1770ft] deep," Moyce told Newsweek.
Moyce guessed that it might be a blobfish based on the description of his image, and several commenters concurred. Others suggested different possibilities, such toadfish or monkfish.
Blobfish are creatures that inhabit deep waters and undergo significant distortion when exposed to the considerably lower pressures found at sea level.
The said creatures are famous for having a flabby "nose" that hangs over their mouth, which is not evident in the photo, but more importantly, they are known for having no teeth.
‘Ugly’ fish caught off Australia ignites social media debate | The Sacramento Bee https://t.co/Hcr1e3rxM8
— Grant W. Graves (@GrantWGraves) June 29, 2022
Mystery Fish Remains Unexplained
The capture is "definitely not a blobfish," said James Maclaine, senior fish curator at London's Natural History Museum.
"That looks to me very much like a monkfish-also known as an anglerfish-from the family Lophiidae," Maclaine said in an NDTV report. "To me, [the] specimen looks most like Lophiodes mutilus (the smooth goosefish)."
According to Oceanscape Network, the goosefish's head is huge compared to the rest of its body, like that of other anglerfish. The fish also has multiple bands of long, curving teeth spaced widely along with its large mouth.
The fish has a flattened profile due to the depressed head and body, which allows it to conceal on the ocean floor. To further conceal it, the top of the body is speckled.
Experts have identified 200 distinct anglerfish living up to a mile below the sea. Their enormous heads, large crescent mouths, and extremely pointed teeth resemble the profile of the unidentified fish.
Bottom-dwelling smooth goosefish ambush their prey by "walking" over the bottom on their pectoral fins, which resemble legs.
They have the same pinkish coloring as the mystery fish and are regularly observed off the Australian coast.
Although the smooth goosefish is a strong contender, the "ugliest" aquatic animal is still unknown at this moment.
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