Bizarre 'bird fish' caught in Chinese river

[UM-Bot]

A fish with a head resembling that of a bird has been caught in a river in China's Guizhou Province.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/318805/bizarre-bird-fish-caught-in-chinese-river

[qxcontinuum]

A fisherman knows. Its 90 % carp. The head is strange likely a malformation.

[pallidin]

Is this REAL or some Internet hoax?

[psyche101]

 

[pallidin]

Fish deformities would not cause head feathers. I call total hoax.
Interestingly, since it was "conveniently" released back into the stream, who can REALLY say?

Edited June 14, 2018 by pallidin

[Deborah72]

3 hours ago, pallidin said:

Is this REAL or some Internet hoax?

Probably real but certainly not a bird/fish.  Our environment is so polluted it doesn't surprise me anymore what strange things are going to be found.

[Minimalists]

If you do a reverse image search the photo of the fish only appears here no where else. Secondly Googling this place Guizhou Fisheries Research Institute turns up nothing...Got my doubts if the photo is even real and maybe some photoshopped hoax....

Also this under the photo to me sends up red flags:

Quote

What the heck is this thing ? Image Credit: YouTube / Mail Online / Newsflare / China.Live

China Live is a Restaurant site!

Edited June 14, 2018 by Alien Origins

[psyche101]

3 hours ago, pallidin said:

Fish deformities would not cause head feathers. I call total hoax.
Interestingly, since it was "conveniently" released back into the stream, who can REALLY say?

I thought it was skin on the head like an eel 

[oldrover]

3 hours ago, pallidin said:

Fish deformities would not cause head feathers. I call total hoax.
Interestingly, since it was "conveniently" released back into the stream, who can REALLY say?

But it hasn't got feathers on its head. This is a deformed carp as qxcontimuum, and even the video say. 

That must have been a very slow news day for the Mail. 

[pallidin]

No head feathers? Ok. Looked like it to me but OK. I've  certainly been known to be wrong before.

Just wish they still had the actual fish in question.

[DirtyDocMartens]

A bump on the head wouldn't somehow change the morphology of an organism - it doesn't have scales around its head! Nor would low oxygen levels; otherwise, we'd be seeing things like this every summer here in East Texas. Whatever it is, it isn't a real fish. And if it matters, I worked as a freshwater biologist for many years, so I'm somewhat informed on this discussion.

[oldrover]

10 minutes ago, DirtyDocMartens said:

A bump on the head wouldn't somehow change the morphology of an organism - it doesn't have scales around its head! Nor would low oxygen levels; otherwise, we'd be seeing things like this every summer here in East Texas. Whatever it is, it isn't a real fish. And if it matters, I worked as a freshwater biologist for many years, so I'm somewhat informed on this discussion.

Perhaps you could say what makes you doubt this is a real fish. Because personally I see nothing more unusual than a deformed carp. But if you have some extra perspective to add. 

[pallidin]

I don't know, but the pic sure looks like fuzzy head feathers.

Plus, the "fish" was supposedly released, so no hope of critical examination.

I call Internet hoax.

Edited June 15, 2018 by pallidin

[Carnoferox]

This is most likely a real carp with a pughead skeletal deformity.

@pallidin

I don't know where you're seeing any feathers. It's probably not a hoax but just another sensationalized account courtesy of the Daily Fail.

[TripGun]

It is a tumor that pushed the face in to that posture. Very grotesque.

Edited June 15, 2018 by TripGun

[Carnoferox]

5 hours ago, TripGun said:

It is a tumor that pushed the face in to that posture. Very grotesque.

That is also a possibility, but I think a skull deformity fits better with the morphology of this fish. Tumors tend to have a more irregular shape.

[Carnoferox]

https://www.livescience.com/62816-fish-with-bird-head-explained.html

[DirtyDocMartens]

22 hours ago, oldrover said:

Perhaps you could say what makes you doubt this is a real fish. Because personally I see nothing more unusual than a deformed carp. But if you have some extra perspective to add. 

1. The scales on the body, very much resembling those of a carp, end where the head begins- not the result of head trauma. 2. I don't see an obvious operculum. 3. What would cause the change in coloration? 4. Should this fish have barbels like some carp? (We could key it out). 5. Those are just off the top of my head,  is that good enough?

[DirtyDocMartens]

23 hours ago, oldrover said:

Perhaps you could say what makes you doubt this is a real fish. Because personally I see nothing more unusual than a deformed carp. But if you have some extra perspective to add. 

Oh, and like a lot of people, I have seen many fish kills attributed to anoxic water conditions, and not once have I seen a specimen that looks like this. 

[fred_mc]

It doesn't look like a bird head to me, more like a dolphin head.

[oldrover]

20 hours ago, DirtyDocMartens said:

Oh, and like a lot of people, I have seen many fish kills attributed to anoxic water conditions, and not once have I seen a specimen that looks like this. 

I'm aware anoxia/hypoxia has been proposed somewhere but I'm not in favour of it. 

 

21 hours ago, DirtyDocMartens said:

1. The scales on the body, very much resembling those of a carp, end where the head begins- not the result of head trauma. 2. I don't see an obvious operculum. 3. What would cause the change in coloration? 4. Should this fish have barbels like some carp? (We could key it out). 5. Those are just off the top of my head,  is that good enough?

No, it's not really, sorry. The animal in the photograph and video clearly, but for the unusual shape of the head, resembles a carp. It particularly looks like a grass carp. Grass carp don't have barbels, so that's a tick, the colouration, scale pattern, and the differentiation between the body and head of both are also characteristic of the species. The gill cover is extremely clear to me, I'm confused by your not identifying it. Also the low placement of the eyes, acknowledging the deformity, is cgarecteristic of the grass carp, as is the ridge bellow the eye. And the video is reportedly from within the range of this species.  It's a grass carp. 

[DirtyDocMartens]

21 hours ago, oldrover said:

I'm aware anoxia/hypoxia has been proposed somewhere but I'm not in favour of it. 

 

No, it's not really, sorry. The animal in the photograph and video clearly, but for the unusual shape of the head, resembles a carp. It particularly looks like a grass carp. Grass carp don't have barbels, so that's a tick, the colouration, scale pattern, and the differentiation between the body and head of both are also characteristic of the species. The gill cover is extremely clear to me, I'm confused by your not identifying it. Also the low placement of the eyes, acknowledging the deformity, is cgarecteristic of the grass carp, as is the ridge bellow the eye. And the video is reportedly from within the range of this species.  It's a grass carp. 

All good observations and deductions. I wholeheartedly concede. Good work!

[oldrover]

3 hours ago, DirtyDocMartens said:

All good observations and deductions. I wholeheartedly concede. Good work!

Thank you DirtyDocMartens. 

[Jon the frog]

Wow alive that long with this kind of deformity, this poor fish is a survival master !