You can come across some pretty funny-looking creatures when you dredge up the riverbeds right? Weird blobby fish with bulbous eyes and feelers, things with suckers and tentacles and fins on their head and faces on their bellies. One thing is for sure, marine biologists must be some of the most unflappable scientists ever to don a lab-coat, because they see some creepy stuff in their line of work.
Fish With Human-Like Teeth And A Taste For Testicles Found In Popular US Lake
By
Michael Avery in
Bizarre
On 16th August 2016
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#1
You can come across some pretty funny-looking creatures when you dredge up the riverbeds right? Weird blobby fish with bulbous eyes and feelers, things with suckers and tentacles and fins on their head and faces on their bellies. One thing is for sure, marine biologists must be some of the most unflappable scientists ever to don a lab-coat, because they see some creepy stuff in their line of work.
#2
But even the bravest marine biologist in the world would raise an eyebrow at the curious jawline of the Pacu. Heck, even a seasoned dentist would have a spot of bother with these monsters. Pacu are a common species of omnivorous South American freshwater fish that are cousins to the bloodthirsty piranha. These fish are well known among those in the aquarium trade for their bizarrely human-looking teeth, which make the fish look like they're using a set of dentures. Seriously, it's quite uncanny! Pacu are well known for the strength and ferocity of their bite. They're pretty dangerous when provoked. But these little beasties have recently been spotted in a certain US lake. To find out what they look like and how they got there, take a look at page two.
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#3
The main difference between the famous piranha species and their more obscure Pacu cousins is their bite alignment. Piranha have pointed teeth which resemble a saw-blade, with a pronounced underbite. These teeth are for tearing off strips of flesh. Whereas Pacu have squarer, straighter teeth, for chewing and gnashing, which are remarkably similar to human teeth, with a less severe underbite or a slight overbite instead.
#4
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, over the last month there have been hundreds of sightings of this species in Lake Michigan and elsewhere in the state, which is making summer tourists looking to take a dip very nervous indeed. The experts believe that the fish's origins aren't that mysterious: it would be messed up if so many South American fish managed to swim to the States unaided after all.
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#5
Local zoologists suspect that many of the Pacu are former pets, and that irresponsible pet-owners have discarded the fish by flushing them when their tanks are no longer able to house the growing creature. Hardly surprising when full-grown Pacu are much larger than piranha, reaching up to 3.0 ft long and weighing 25 kg in the wild. Yikes!
