Internet users have been left baffled by a video of a fish with human-like features swimming in a lake in China.
When I say ‘human-like features’, I don’t mean ears, hair and a torso, unfortunately. If it did look like that then we’d have just discovered a real-life mermaid, and I definitely would have led with that.
Instead, this was a fish with a human-like face, with dark eyes, two spots resembling nostrils and the illusion of wide lips.
Check out the odd, human-esque creature here:
As well as ticking eyes, nose and mouth off the list of human features, the fish appeared to have a bridge above its eyes, which gave the look of a forehead, as well as the shadow of ears.
It was spotted by a woman in China, who saw the carp near the surface of a lake in the Miao Village, a tourist destination in the city of Kunming. The intrigued visitor then decided to film the strange scene to share with others on the Chinese site Weibo.
Upon seeing the fish, the woman filming said:
The fish has turned into a fairy.
‘Fairy’ might be too nice a description if you ask me – I imagine fairies to be delicate, sparkly little creatures with intricate features – not flat-faced fish.
Instead, I think the fish resembles the Transformers mask. Or maybe the video is actually some excessive optical illusion or eye test where you have to guess what you’re looking at?
It seems the woman who filmed the video is the only person who saw the magical side of the strange animal, as social media users deemed the fish ‘scary’ after footage of it was shared online.
A number of people have argued the fish is less fairy and more Voldemort, with a couple suggesting the video could be evidence of the Dark Lord’s reincarnation.
One Twitter user wrote:
Voldemort returns in fish form.
Another went to the extent of asking Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling for answers, writing:
I think J.K. Rowling forgot to mention that a fish is one of the horcruxes. Does Voldemort live on?! Are we being teased for another instalment of Harry Potter?! @jk_rowling, we need answers!
Though the human-faced carp is certainly unusual, it isn’t the first of its kind, as other fish have gained attention in the past for having similar features, The Telegraph report.
Two carp living in a 64-year old South Korean man’s pond made waves in 2009 as they appeared to have distinctive human noses, eyes and lips.
Interestingly, the owner said at the time the fish had been ‘getting more and more human for the past couple of years’. Who knows, maybe this could be the start of mermaid evolution?
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.