Fish with human-looking teeth terrifies beachgoers in US

A rare fish with human-like teeth was spotted by some beachgoers in the Outer Banks in North Carolina, a discovery that has caught the attention of internet users.

The photo taken of the mysterious fish, shared on Facebook on Tuesday by Jennette’s Pier — a fishing destination in Nags Head — shows the nine-pound creature opening its mouth and displaying human-like teeth, which makes it look like it’s wearing dentures.

The fish was identified as a sheepshead, with several rows of molars in its mouth it uses for crushing oysters and other prey. It is believed to have received its name because its mouth looks like that of a sheep.

Sheepshead fish are usually found near rocks, jetties, reefs, and even bridges. They are also known as the “convict fish” because of their black and white stripes. Officials with the North Carolina aquarium were quoted by local media outlets as saying that these fish are extremely difficult to catch, but taste great.

The photo was captioned “#bigteethbigtimes” and its shows the sheepshead flashing a top and bottom set of pearly-ish whites.

Martin, the person who caught the fish, told McClatchy News he was out fishing with his twin brother on Monday when he came across a “mouth full of teeth.” He said he is a regular at the pier and went out in hopes of catching a sheepshead.

“It’s a very good fight when you’re fighting on the line, it’s a really good catch, and it tastes very good,” he was quoted by McClatchy News as saying.

The Facebook post with the picture of the fish has created quite a splash on social media with over 1200 reactions on it. In the comment, users expressed their disbelief at what they were seeing.

“Is this where dentures come from?” one commenter, Lisa Drouin Martin, said.

“I know people who would love to have that many teeth,” wrote Charlene Turner.

“That fish has better teeth than me,” wrote Helen Prager.