A group of Italian sailors were shocked and confused after they came across a fish that looked like a strange cross between a pig and a shark. If you do not believe, try to observe the appearance of this creature.
The unusual creature was seen floating on water and was discovered by the crew of a naval ship docked at the Darsena Medicea, located in the town of Portoferraio on the island of Elba, Italy.
They quickly moved to get the strange creature out of the water, and found that it appeared to have the body of a shark but the face of a pig.
Quoted from NDTV, after checking more closely by people who have expertise in the field of marine fauna, it turns out that the animal is actually an angular roughshark or Oxynotus centrina. They usually inhabit the ocean depths of 700 meters below the waves.
The Angular roughshark is currently listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite being endangered, locals say this fish occasionally comes to the surface.
strange fishAngular roughshark. Photo: Facebook Isola d'Elba App
Despite all the information about the Angular roughshark, the strange find went viral after photos of the shark were shared on social media.
Hundreds of comments flooded the post, including many who falsely criticized the sailors for allegedly catching and killing the endangered shark on purpose.
In fact, after being removed from the water, the sailors immediately took him to the port office to study. Yuri Tiberto of the Elba Aquarium said, although rare, it was not unusual for the shark to be spotted in the area.
"It's commonly called 'pigfish'. In the seas of the Tuscan archipelago, which is so rich in biodiversity, it's not uncommon to find this fish. And I often receive reports of catching pigs," he said, adding that the Angular roughshark inhabits the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
