It’s like something out of a science fiction movie, but this mysterious creature from the sea is REAL and is spreading it’s ‘terrifying’ fins onto land.
The fish- native of Papua New Guinea- has been spotted in northern Australia and is causing concern amongst wildlife experts in the area.
They claim that if the fish- known as the aggressive climbing perch (yikes!)- thrives then it could potentially be a ‘major disaster’ for other animals.
The killer fish kills birds and larger fish by horrifically choking them. It can bring itself out of the murky depths and breathe for 6 days on land in order to hunt down it’s prey.
Researchers from James Cook University have only reported a handful of sightings, but ecologist Nathan Waltham says: “When they populate an area they’re not commonly found in, they can disrupt the balance of that habitat.”
Thankfully the fish- which possess both sets of lungs AND gills- pose no threat to humans, but scientists are planning to keep a close eye on the fascinating species.
Fisheries Queensland said in a statement that they were not worried about the fish spreading further afield so far.
A spokeswoman told ABC Australia: "There is no viable means of eradicating the fish from these islands and an awareness campaign was conducted with island communities to help prevent any further dispersal of these exotic fish.”