A photograph depicting a man showcasing a large fish with an ape-like face, supposedly caught in Trinidad, Caribbean, has rapidly spread across various social media platforms.
Mike Holston, a specialist in exotic animals and a zookeeper at the Zoological Wildlife Foundation of Mario and Maria Tabraue in Miami, Florida, propagated the notion of an “Algerian gorilla fish” as a real creature. He posted an image of a man holding the massive fish with the ape-like visage, supposedly caught in Trinidad, Caribbean.
Holston stated: “This is an amazing photo of the Algerian gorilla fish…this is an adult male that typically grows to about 3-4 feet, but this particular one was feeding on baby whales this winter and reached its maximum size! “They lay 34 eggs on land and during mating season, they turn bright red to attract females!
They move in groups only in September when El Niño is at its peak velocity…they can live up to 13 years, but if they undergo circumcision, they can live up to 48!”
He encouraged his followers to share more “facts” about this creature. One individual claimed that the gorilla fish “can breathe and function equally well in both water and on land”.
Numerous individuals joined in to share their “facts” about the fish, leading to the spread of this hoax across various platforms.
A well-known Twitter account @rahsh33m posted the picture of the fictional creature on April 17, 2023. The post received 39,000 likes and more than 4,000 retweets.
One individual on Twitter commented: “That appears to be an Algeria Gorilla Fish.
They typically inhabit the local rivers’ bottoms during the warmer seasons for breeding.
This is the largest one I’ve seen in a photo, as they are usually 3-4ft in size. “Probably due to the changing climate. Also, I just made up this story.” “We immediately searched on Google because I was skeptical that this is genuine,” another user mentioned on Instagram.
Another person remarked: “Why is this the only image of this fish?
There are no Google images of any gorilla fish.” The true source of the image remains uncertain as it has been shared on various social media platforms.
