Fish sporting human-like teeth charms angler, lights up social media
A fishing pier company in North Carolina posted photos of the fish with the toothy grin on social media, quickly becoming viral.
When avid angler Nathan Martin happily pulled in his hefty haul earlier this month, he may not have expected it to smile back at him -- complete with human-like teeth.
Martin was fishing at the Jennette's Pier in Nag's Head, N.C., recently when he caught the fish sporting teeth closely resembling those of a human's.
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So, what was it that he pulled in? A nine-pound sheepshead, which is quite common in the area. The name is reflective of the fact its mouth appears to be similar to a sheep’s.
The fishing pier company in North Carolina posted photos of the fish with the toothy grin on social media, quickly becoming viral.
“They're the fastest, trickiest biters. People talk all the time about how they can steal your bait really quickly,” Daryl Law, communications manager for the Jennette's Pier, told CTVNews.ca.
(Jennette's Pier/Facebook)
“I think it resonated with the masses around the world because it kind of looks like human teeth,” he laughed.
SHEEPSHEAD TEETH CAN CRUSH THE SHELLS OF PREY
Visuals of the sheepshead gained popularity on Facebook with posts using the hashtag #bigteethbigtimes, generating plenty of reaction. One user person commented with a cheeky tone, pondering if it’s difficult for the fish to brush its teeth with no hands.
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, sheepshead are deep and compressed in body shape, with five or six dark bars on the side of the body over a grey background. The fish have sharp dorsal spines and a hard mouth, with several rows of stubby teeth -- of which the frontal ones bear a striking resemblance to human teeth. The sheepshead teeth can help crush the shells of prey.
(Jennette's Pier/Facebook)
“These animals feed on things with hard shells, like barnacles and mussels and crabs. And they're found during the warmest months of the year,” said Law.
The sheepshead typically reside in coastal waters along the western Atlantic -- from Nova Scotia to Brazil, but the greatest numbers are found near southwest Florida.
Law noted that its nickname is “convict fish” due to their established vertical black and white stripes.
If you ever catch one, the Jennette's Pier communications manager said the fish are a "delicious form of white meat," but can be quite tough to reel in, so prepare for a battle if you hook into one.
Thumbnail courtesy of Jennette's Pier/Facebook.
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