Exotic fish with ‘human teeth’ bites diver in Egypt; to watch

Alex Pikul, 31, is a diver from Alabama, United States, when he was exploring the Sharm el-Sheikh coast of Egypt when he caught and attacked a strange triggerfish leg that looked like it had human teeth.

When a sea current forced them to change their swimming direction, they were accompanied by eight divers, led by Maira Thomas, partner of Mar Hosted Trips. Unknowingly, they passed over an egg nest. Wanting to protect their young, the male triggerfish started chasing them.

Alex Pikul told The Sun that he felt he was not in danger until he was surprised and attacked. “The trigger fish swam away, so I turned around and continued to follow the rest of the group, but suddenly it bit my leg.” In a video posted on Mar Hosted Trips’ social networks, the diver appears to swear a few words underwater.

Tooth arched fish species are known for guarding their nests against possible threats, chasing and attacking intruders. According to the diver’s report, the bite left a bruise and scar in the form of the animal’s teeth for the remainder of his trip to Egypt.

Despite the strong current and the attack he was subjected to, Alex Pikul remained optimistic and said that this difficult dive is his favourite. “I’ve seen triggerfish before, but when I watched the video of them coming back, I thought it was hilarious – you never get as close as a photo can get.”

Triggerfish have strong jaws that support their teeth, so they are always ready to catch prey such as crabs and sea urchins. “His teeth look too big for his mouth, almost like he has dentures or something,” Alex added.

According to the organization BioDiversity4All (Biodiversidade para Todos), the species name refers to the pig-like sound these fish make when caught. They are typical salt waters that are valuable in fishing and are also called peroá, acarapucu or porquinho.