SINGAPORE: Walking along Singapore’s shores may not be for the fainthearted, as they might encounter this terrifying little guy whose face is enough to give you nightmares.
A Longnose Stargazer was spotted recently, and the video of its face has gone viral on Instagram, reaching over 53 million views and almost 1.3 million likes.
The rare fish was featured in a post on the untamed_paths IG account on May 18, which said the encounter occurred during an Intertidal Exploration in Singapore.
View this post on Instagram
“An uncommon and fascinating sight, these quirky fish bury themselves in the sand with only their heads exposed, seemingly gazing at the stars while waiting for unsuspecting prey.
They are similar to stonefishes and scorpionfishes, which means they also possess venomous spines that can deliver painful stings!” the caption reads.
The fish can be seen staring straight up in shallow water with its large bulging eyes, unmoving. In another part of the video, it can be seen gasping and swallowing rapidly before disappearing into the sand.
“Its pectoral fins act as shovels that help it to bury deep. Definitely an uncommon sight in Singapore,” the video explains.
Let’s see: bulging eyes, venomous spines, painful stings, powerful pecs, so, yeah, definitely the stuff of nightmares, as the saying goes.
Many Instagram users certainly seemed to think so.
“I would die if I was walking in the water, stepped on that, looked down and saw that. Like, literally pass away,” wrote one, while another said, “That’s it no more beach for me.”
One simply wrote. “New fear unlocked.”
Others, however, chose to take a more humorous tack.
“When they say plenty of fish in the sea, this is what they look like,” one quipped, and someone else joked, “Please take this video of my sister down; she didn’t allow this to be posted.”
Another IG user, however, urged the post author to “unfind it,” and we don’t know whether she was joking.
In case you’re wondering and want to be marked safe from Longnosed Stargazers in the wilds of Singapore, they are most often found on northern shores, “usually buried in sand bars and sandy shores near seagrass areas,” a fact sheet about the fish on wildsingapore.com says.
And if you do see one, don’t touch it! You’ll want to steer clear of its venomous spines. They can grow up to 30 cm long and use the filaments on their lips to lure and catch unsuspecting prey.
“The prey is sucked up whole into its enormous mouth that can extend outwards,” the fact sheet says. /TISG
Read also: Mysterious mass fish deaths trigger investigation at Sembawang Beach