In the video, the fish is seen scuttling around on a pair of spindly 'legs'.
We've all heard of flying fish, but a video of a 'walking' fish has left scientists stumped. The video, shot by diver Emeric Benhalassa off the coast of Bali, Indonesia, shows a fish that appears to be walking across the seafloor on a pair of legs. In the footage, captured by the French diver and shared by the National Geographic, an orange-brown fish is seen scuttling around on a pair of spine-like 'legs' protruding from its body, possibly scouring for food on the seafloor.
Mr Benhalassa thought the fish to be some kind of a stingfish. Fish experts, known as ichthyologists, agree that it's a member of the stingfish genus. However, what they don't agree on is its species, reports the
National Geographic.
The mystery fish could be a striped stingfish, a white goblin or even an undescribed species.
According to the
National Geographic, the fish's 'feet' are actually pectoral fins that have separated through evolution. Stingfish and their relatives use these 'pectoral filaments' to probe the mud for worms and crustaceans, according to marine biologist Hiroyuki Motomura.
Watch the intriguing video below:
Scientists agree that it's hard to identify the fish positively without holding a specimen in hand.Click for more
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