Orange News has reported that a South Carolina angler had the shock of a lifetime when he was bitten by a mystery fish with bizarre human-like teeth.
Frank Yarborough was fishing in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, when he hooked a nearly 2-feet long fish which — much like Lake Erie’s notorious CHOMPER — tried to take a chunk out of him. After reeling in what he assumed was a catfish, Yarborough plunged his hand in the dark water to pull it out, only to find his fingers clamped between what appeared to be a set of distinctly human-looking teeth.
Robert Stroud, a freshwater fisheries biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, has confirmed that samples from the as yet UNCLASSIFIED fish have been sent off to determine the fish’s species. Stroud, who was unable to positively identify the strange fish, claimed that it might be an Amazonian transplant:
“This fish is more than likely a common species of Pacu, Colossama macropomum, originating from the Amazon River basin of South America and is quite common in the aquarium trade.”
Pacus, a distant relative of the piranha, is a warm water fish, and not native to Lake Wylie. Biologists believe it was probably raised in an exotic fish tank and released when it got too large for the tank. This miniature LAKE MONSTER is currently residing in a freezer in Mr Yarborough’s home.