ookamiuo

Yikes! What must have been going through the minds of a group of Japanese fishermen when they caught the shocking fish pictured above off the coast of Hokkaido? It’s a face that could keep anyone up at night with that gargantuan, gaping mouth.

Actually, on second thought, the big guy’s kind of growing on us…

The fish in question was identified by the fishermen as a Bering wolffish, called ookami uo (literally “wolf fish”) in Japanese, which are found in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. Wikipedia states that adults can grow to be 112 centimeters (44.1 inches) long and weigh up to 15 kilograms (33.1 pounds). Although that oversized head may look terrifying, we humans have nothing to worry about–the wolffish actually dines on crabs and mollusks when it’s not just sitting around looking like someone’s derpy piscine pet.

Nevertheless, here are the two pictures that startled many Japanese net users when they were uploaded earlier this month:

▼ “It was worth flying to Shiretoko [Hokkaido] twice within three months. This guy is super cool!”

▼ “People have been asking for more pictures of the Bering wolffish, so here’s another one.”

The photos were uploaded by one Hiroshi Hirasaka, whose Twitter profile states “I live to chase interesting creatures.” A quick glance at his posts reveals his love for tracking down and catching a variety of unusual animals. In fact, he’s even written a book which can be found on Amazon Japan titled Recipes for Invasive Fish Species: I Caught, Judged, Then Tried Eating Them. Hopefully our wolffish friend didn’t end up as one of his culinary experiments, but we’re sure it left a lasting impression on him regardless!   

Source: Singapore Seen
Featured image: Twitter/@hirahiroro