The image of a man holding the huge ape-faced fish after he allegedly reeled it in in Trinidad, Caribbean, has gone viral on all major social media sites.
A theory about an “Algerian gorilla fish” with an ape-like face that “feasts on whales” has been debunked as a mere social media myth.
Mike Holston, an exotic animal specialist and zookeeper at the Mario and Maria Tabraue Zoological Wildlife Foundation in Miami, Florida, spread the conspiracy that imaginary animals exist.
He shared a photo of a man holding the huge ape-faced fish after allegedly catching it in Trinidad, Caribbean.
Holston wrote: “What a great photo of this Algerian gorilla fish…this is an adult male that usually measures 3-4 feet, but this guy was eating baby whales this winter and had maxed out in size!
“They lay 34 eggs in the ground and during mating season they turn bright red to attract females! They travel in herds only in September when El Niño is at its maximum speed… they can live to be 13 years old but if they are circumcised they can live to be 48!”
He urged his followers to share “more data” about the beast.
One person said that gorilla fish “can breathe and function with the same efficiency in the sea as on land.”
Dozens of people rushed to share their “facts” about the fish, and the ruse spiraled out of control and was widely shared.
A popular Twitter profile @rahsh33m shared the image of the invented creature on April 17, 2023. The tweet garnered 39,000 likes and over 4,000 retweets.
One Twitter user wrote: “That’s an Algerian gorilla fish. They typically reside in nearby river beds during warmer weather to mate. This is the first photo I’ve seen of one this large, as they are usually 3 to 4 feet long.
“It must be due to climate changes. “Besides, I just made this shit up.”
“We went straight to Google because I was like nah we don’t think this is real,” another person said on Instagram.
Someone else added: “How come this is the only picture of this fish? There are no Google images of any gorilla fish.”
The actual origins of the photo remain unclear, as the images have circulated on several social media sites.