It looks like something out of a science fiction movie.
But a 'mystery' sea creature found today by a group of Cape Town pupils, causing a brief social media frenzy, turned out to be a relatively well-known 'sucker fish'.
Red, slimy, with gruesome pointy teeth, the unusual specimen was found washed up in a rock pool during a school outing to St James near Muizenberg.
Pictures were quickly posted to Facebook, prompting speculation of a scientific discovery.
“I was sitting with my friend on the rocks when we saw everybody crowding around,” said Hannah-Rose Roughton, a grade eight pupil from Fish Hoek High. “One of the students was holding it – it was very creepy.”
However the Times has established that the fish species is well-known among marine scientists. It uses its sharp teeth to feed off limpets.
A similar fish was found a year ago, prompting newspaper headlines.
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