Man shares photos of 'creepy' triggerfish that has ‘human’ teeth and lips

Social media erupted with fascination, weird arousal and disgust this after a Twitter user shared close-up photos of a fish reportedly caught in Malaysia, which appears to have the mouth of a human.

@raff_nasir shared photos of the fish to his Twitter account on July 2nd, writing: ‘His lips are hotter than mine’ and the bizarre photos have since gone viral, with more than 20,000 people liking them – and others adding false eyelashes and bling nails to the marine life.

While there is some speculation that the gnashers are the work of Photoshop, local media sources in Malaysia seem to think that the images are genuine and could be of a triggerfish, of which there are some 40 varieties.

The triggerfish does indeed have sharp teeth, with regular snacks being prickly sea urchins and hard-shell crabs.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) confirmed to Metro that these photos could be of a Blackpatch triggerfish (Rhinecathus verrucosus), identified because of the orange stripe that runs down its side.

The WWF said: ‘It’s a well-known species with a wide distribution from the Seychelles to the Great Barrier Reef, which would include Malaysia.’