Armor Fish – En Garde!

ArmourFish01This must be fish week! People are finding and pulling things from the water that defy explanation. Take this ferocious looking little guy: caught by a fisherman in the South China Sea off the coast of Borneo.  The fisherman and local authorities have no idea what it is.

The little guy measures about a foot long ( 30.4 cm ) and as you can see, has a large head and big eyes. The body tapers off to a small little tail, but along the length of its back sit spiny protrusions that could hurt someone.

BorneoAlso note the “tusks” coming off the front of it. Those spikes look like they could do some  damage. My guess is that it uses the tusks for defense because I don’t see the mouth; it must be under the animal. That could mean it’s a bottom feeder, or perhaps munches smaller fish like a stingray does.

The fisherman, Sapar Mansor, said he and his friend left home, traveled two hours down the Miri River into the open sea. In the early morning light, he managed to catch this strange little fish.

Officials have entered the fray: the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) is trying to identify the creature. Deputy Manager Oswald Braken Tise said, “SFC has not been able to establish what kind of fish it is but is in the process of checking with relevant authorities.”

ArmourFish02Mansor’s wife said they are drying the fish to preserve it, and will keep it.

I honestly wish they had photographed the fish aboard ship and released it back into the ocean. Who knows how many there are of them.

Regardless, this little creature fits my definition of a cryptid – and it’s newly found! I still have hope for the larger hairier varieties!

Til the next time!

9/30

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