A woman who was fishing near a Michigan shore brought in an unusual catch last week: a foot-long pacu fish sporting human-like teeth.
Related to the deadly piranha, the pacu is an omnivorous fish from South America that is often used to stock aquariums. The University of Michigan is working to identify the fish recently captured in Lake St. Clair in Macomb County, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Living on a diet of fruits, nuts and smaller fish, pacu have square teeth that look more like human teeth than the razor-sharp choppers found in piranhas. They can typically be bought from tropical fish stores for $12 and are legal to own, according to a WXYZ report.
Pacu aren't often found swimming wild in the area and shouldn't be released into lakes since they aren't native fish, Cleyo Harris, an acting fisheries biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told the Free Press.
While it's unlikely that the pacu's source will be determined, the speculation is that the fish grew too large for its tank and was released into the lake by an owner. Pacu, which can grow to be up to 55 pounds in the wild, probably wouldn't survive a winter in the Great Lakes since they are tropical fish, WXYZ reported.
The fish pulled in last week will ultimately be kept at the State of Michigan DNR Library for Invasive Species.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
