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This might make you a little more suspicious of what’s lurking in the deep waters.
People around the world are shocked at this enormous, bizarre looking fish that washed up on a beach in Australia.
Photos taken by Linette Grzelak were posted to the Facebook page of National Parks South Australia this week, and they’ve since gone viral.
According to National Parks South Australia, the fish is what’s known as an Ocean Sunfish, and it was found by two fishermen, one of whom was Grzelak, who sent the photos in.
The deep sea creature reportedly washed up on the beach at Coorong National Park.
“These beauties are the world’s largest bony fish and can weigh more than a car,” the organization said.
The park stated that, according to the South Australian Museum, they have no way of knowing how the fish died.
“It seems healthy looking and without any obvious injuries,” they said.
“Although sunfish spend much of their time well offshore in the ocean and can dive to great depths in search of food, it’s not uncommon for them to come close to shore if there are good numbers of jellyfish to feed on.”
They added that it wouldn’t be that uncommon for the fish to be in that area, however it was likely just passing through rather than being a resident.
“Last year two or three stayed around the Victor Harbor Bluff and Waitpinga Cliffs for about a week, apparently feeding on Jimble Jellyfish that were present in large numbers, and another was filmed swimming around a jetty on Kangaroo Island in late January this year,” they said.
And don’t worry, sunfish are harmless to people. They only feed on jellyfish, ctenophores and occasionally small crustaceans and fishes.
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