A brightornage behemoth of a fish measuring 36-inchs (91cm) long and weighing a staggering 32 lbs (14kg) has been found in an American lake.
Experts say that while it looks like an overgrown goldfish, it is actually a mutant bigmouth buffalo.
Found in Brainerd Lakes, the animal could be at least 100 years old according to Dr Alec Lackmann, an expert at North Dakota State University.
Bow fisherman Jason Fugate, 33, landed the giant creature and was mystified by his catch and its appearance.
He said that he knew that it was a bigmouth buffalo fish, having caught many before, but was confused by its colouring.
Bigmouth buffalo fish are typically a dark grey sometimes and are usually darker than the smallmouth. The fish are capable of living up to 110 years old.
'I knew it was a big buffalo fish,' said Mr Fugate.
Dr Lackmann, a biologist at North Dakota State University, who examined the fish's otolith — a calcium structure from the fish's inner ear, to reveal that the fish was at least 100 years old.
And he thought that this advanced age, or a genetic mutation, might be the reason for the creature's unique bright colouring.
'I had never seen something like that all across the entire body of the fish.
'It might have just accumulated a lot of things over its lifetime. And that's why it was just so vivid orange like this.'
Experts say that while it looks like an overgrown goldfish, it is actually a mutant bigmouth buffalo.
Found in Brainerd Lakes, the animal could be at least 100 years old according to Dr Alec Lackmann, an expert at North Dakota State University.
Bow fisherman Jason Fugate, 33, landed the giant creature and was mystified by his catch and its appearance.
He said that he knew that it was a bigmouth buffalo fish, having caught many before, but was confused by its colouring.
Bigmouth buffalo fish are typically a dark grey sometimes and are usually darker than the smallmouth. The fish are capable of living up to 110 years old.
'I knew it was a big buffalo fish,' said Mr Fugate.
Dr Lackmann, a biologist at North Dakota State University, who examined the fish's otolith — a calcium structure from the fish's inner ear, to reveal that the fish was at least 100 years old.
And he thought that this advanced age, or a genetic mutation, might be the reason for the creature's unique bright colouring.
'I had never seen something like that all across the entire body of the fish.
'It might have just accumulated a lot of things over its lifetime. And that's why it was just so vivid orange like this.'
Music: "Dream Catcher" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: Daily Mail, KSTP
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