A strange and rare fish found in Minahasa

The discovery of the rare fish in Minahasa by Adj. First. Insp. Jefrry Nggala, an officer with the Wanea Police in Manado, North Sulawesi taken seriously by universities and research institutes.

A shark researcher from the Research Center for Oceanography, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia/LIPI), Fahmi said that the fish found in Kalasey beach, Minahasa regency, on Sunday, August 7, 2016, is worth examining.

An Indonesian police officer found the carcass of the rarely-seen fish in North Sulawesi on Sunday. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1d3PAT)

As previously reported by Kompas, Nggala find the odd-shaped fish in the dead condition. Allegedly, the death occurred shortly before the fish found. "When I found the fish, its eyes were purple," said Nggala.

Recognizing the characteristic peculiarities of the fish, Nggala then take a picture, upload the photos to Facebook, and search for information about it on the internet. As the results of his googling showed that fish measuring about 60 cm is 'Oxynotus brunensis,' or Prickly Dogfish whose status is nearly extinct.

A fish that looks like a shark measuring 60-centimeters-long was found on Kalasey Beach in Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi by a police officer Jefrry Nggala. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1d3OZL)

Fahmi, who contacted by Kompas, on Monday, August 8, 2016, confirmed that the fish are indeed the type of spiny sharks are now increasingly rare.

"This is a new finding. Kind of like it usually is in temperate zone (in Australia and New Zealand waters)," said Fahmi.

Fahmi had contacted his fellow researchers from Australia and New Zealand. "They wonder such kind in the waters of Indonesia," he said. The discovery of brown-bodied fish in the waters of Minahasa can be construed as a "new record" of the Oxynotus genus in Indonesia. However, it can also be more than a new record. "It could be a new species if it is different from the type that is already there," he explained.

Fahmi hoped, the fish specimens that have the characteristics of large and spiny backs were stored because it can be a valuable research material. Meanwhile, N Gustaf M Mamangkey, a marine researcher at the Sam Ratulangi University in Manado said that the university had secured the rare fish specimens.

"At this time, the specimen stored at the Faculty of Fisheries and Oceanography, Sam Ratulangi University, and is planned to be carried out an 'autopsy' by the university expert teams and relatives in the near future," he said.

"Why was found stranded in the waters of North Sulawesi, let us wait for the answer together," he added through Facebook on Monday. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | KOMPAS]

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