February 26, 2009
Another Freaky Fish
BY: suzannah
Speaking of freaky fish, here’s another one to add to the list of potential nominees for our annual contest: the newly discovered yawning fish.Ok, so this member of the frogfish family isn’t totally new – divers first documented it a year ago. But it’s just now been confirmed as a new species by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (that’s people who study fish, amphibians and reptiles). This new species could be their mascot, given its chimera-like appearance.The freaky fish has leg-like fins and eyes on the front of its head, suggesting bifocal vision like humans, plus an exaggerated frowning mouth that gapes open in its signature yawn.And in a video posted by the Christian Science Monitor, the fish doesn’t seem like much of a swimmer, bumping from coral to coral like a pinball. You have to wonder how it spent so many years undetected with its wild coloration and less than smooth moves.
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