A fish that has the same dentition as humans has been caught by Wildlife experts with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and they had so much fun by posting photo of the fish on their Facebook platform and asking their followers to identify it.
‘You’ll need a saltwater fishing license to catch me! I like to hang out near rocks, jetties, reefs, and even bridges. I’m also known as the convict fish because of my black and white stripes,’ biologists wrote in the caption on Wednesday.
And the riddle didn’t stop there.
‘The coolest thing about me? I have human-like incisors and molars to help crush my food. I like shrimp and oysters just like you do!’ the post continued.
Several folks responded to the post with many of them guessing that the fish was a sheepshead fish, which is correct. This particular fish can grow to be as large as 35 inches weigh as much as 21 pounds.
It has a hard mouth and stubby teeth that bear a striking resemblance to human teeth, according to Science ABC.com.
No one really knows where the fish got its name, but it’s been suggested that it’s because its teeth also resemble those of sheep.
Sheepshead fish can be found on the Gulf and the Atlantic coasts of the United States.
And Sheepshead Bay in New York City was even named after the creepy-looking fish, although the species is no longer found that far north.
Facts on The sheepshead
The sheepshead fish is a deep-bodied flat fish that is commonly found in North and South America. It usually weighs around 21.2 lbs (9.6 kg) and reaches 91 cm (35.8 inches) in length.
Actually, the term ‘sheepshead’ may refer to a number of things, including a few other types of fish. However, in this article, we are only considering the species that is most commonly referred to as the sheepshead – Archosargus probatocephalus.
Archosargus probatocephalus are a euryhaline species, which means that they have been collected from waters where the salinity ranged from 0 – 35 parts per thousand (ppt). Parasites of sheepshead include nematodes, isopods, trematodes and ciliates, but infestations carried out by these parasites don’t endanger large populations of sheepshead.
The sheepshead has limited commercial value, but it’s particularly well-known for possessing teeth that look incredibly similar to ours (we’ll discuss this later).
