A rare deep-sea fish has washed up near Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay.
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Staff members from Wreck Bay Council noticed the unusual looking fish washed up near Murrays Boat Ramp and took it to the park office.
The fish has since been identified as a crested bandfish (Lophotus guentheri).
The one metre find from the deep, dark ocean depths is so rare that Wikipedia only has a drawing of it.
There are only about 30 records of crested bandfish being discovered, including this one, on the 'Atlas of Living Australia'.
It's a deep-sea species which people would ordinarily never encounter.
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Deep-sea fish are usually interesting as they have evolved into all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes to both attract prey and avoid being eaten themselves.
The crested bandfish feeds on animals like squids and has an ink sack for defence.
The long, silvery-bluish ribbon-like fish becoming paler below, with a reddish to blackish long-based dorsal fin with tall anterior rays, and a short anal fin positioned just before the small caudal fin.
The species has a vertical head profile, very large eyes, and an internal ink sac opening near the anus.
The sac contains dark, inky liquid that may be used as a defence mechanism when the fish is threatened.
It's not known how the creature got to Murrays Beach but what a find!
The images have been uploaded to Fishes of Australia https://bit.ly/2YIWi2g