Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Mandrill Fish: Freaky Creature from the Deep

In the year of 2006, a strange sea creature had washed ashore on Tampa Beach, Florida. This creature was believed to be unknown to science until a few weeks later when another creature of the same species was caught in fishing nets in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Monstrologists have named this weird species of fish the Mandrill Fish. With a fanged face similar in appearance of a mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), it was theorized that this species was carnivorous. The living specimen, sadly died moments later after capture but, its body gave Monstrologists clues on how this creature lived. Being a deep-sea fish, the Mandrill Fish's body was specially structured to survive the depths of the ocean and have evolved luminous eyes to help the creature hunt for prey. The horn on top of its head was theorized for attracting mates or for stabbing enemies including predators such as sharks. Males and females of the species were soon discovered to have differences in markings. Females being brownish in color while the males, similar to the primate it shares its name, has colorful painted faces. Believe or not, it turns out the one that washed ashore was a male due to its size and the one captured was a small female. Lots about the Mandrill Fish is still unknown such as behavior, movement, intelligence, and true prey source to science. It is known that the Mandrill Fish lives in the depths of the Atlantic and possibility the Pacific.
The photograph above is the original Mandrill Fish that was found washed ashore in 2006. It was believed to be a "gaff" or sideshow "souvenirs" such as the Feejee Mermaid but, was later proved otherwised.

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