A diver who was enjoying a picturesque dive along the coast of Egypt received the shock of his life when a terrifying fish with 'human teeth' chased and attacked him.
The 31-year-old diver was left in agonising pain when the terrifying sea creature with protruding teeth took a bite out of his leg.
Alex Pikul from Alabama in the USA was scuba-diving off the coast of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt when he was viciously attacked by a triggerfish that looked like it “had human teeth and dentures”.
The Daily Star reports that Alex was in a group of eight divers, led by the owner of boutique scuba diving company Mar Hosted Trips, Maira, when a strong current forced them to change their course.
The group then ended up unintentionally swimming over a nest of eggs before a male triggerfish, who was possibly protecting his offspring, launched the assault and began chasing them.
Alex explained: "I (thought I was) in the clear because the triggerfish swam off so I turned around and swam away following the rest of the group, but all of a sudden it chomped on my leg.
"The way I felt it I thought it probably broke skin and I would be bleeding - you can hear me shout out some cuss words underwater.”
Triggerfish are aptly named due to their aggressive nature and are particularly protective when guarding nests.
They are also known to charge and bite intruders - something Alex swiftly discovered on his diving trip.
Despite the strong current and being attacked, Alex says the “challenging” dive was his favourite and he doesn't hold a grudge against the grumpy fish for simply defending its eggs.
Triggerfish bare large teeth that are used alongside their strong jaws to tackle prey including crabs and sea urchins.
Alex added: "I've seen triggerfish before but when I saw the video of it coming back I thought it was hilarious - you never really get that close of a shot of what their teeth look like.
"It's a face only a mother could love - goofy, ugly-looking fish with human-like teeth. They look too big for his mouth, almost like he's got dentures or something.
"The bite left a bruise and welt in the shape of its teeth for the rest of the trip which was quite funny.”
Triggerfish are often found in relatively shallow, coastal habitats and in 2020, one of the creatures was found by an angler in Malaysia.
The angler was so shocked by their discovery that they posted an image of the fish on Twitter in an attempt to identify the creature.
The toothy creature proved an online sensation, with Twitter users giving the creature a makeover by adding a pair of false eyelashes and a manicure to the fish which bared the same 'human teeth' as the one spotted off the coast in Egypt.
