Bizarre pink ‘alien’ fish found in Mexico identified as a swellshark

The bloated pink creature was mistaken for an April Fools' joke

The strange pink fish has been identified as a swellshark (Jaime Rendon/Pisces)

A swollen, pink fish which was found off the coast of Mexico last week was branded an April Fools' joke by many people who saw it.

The animal has now been identifed as a swellshark, although its unusual colouring has gone unexplained.

The strange creature was caught by Jaime Rendon, captain of the Dr. Pescado, a tourist fishing boat operating in Cabo, on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

Swellsharks typically have mottled brown skin and five distinct gill slits (Cliff/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) (Cliff/Flickr (CC BY 2.0))

Images of the strange fish, which show its upsettingly human-looking flesh and beady black eyes, quickly spread around the world after being posted on Facebook.

However, after being examined, experts concluded the fish was a swellshark - a species of small shark found in the Pacific Ocean which can fill its belly with water to evade predators.

The strange shark was released back into the ocean after being caught (Jaime Rendon/Pisces)

The swellshark can also inflate itself with air when closer to the surface, and has been known to let out a dog-like bark when the air is released.

The creature typically has mottled brown skin, which camouflages it against the sea bed, and five tight gill slits on each side of its head. The raspy pale skin of Rendon's catch, which only had six gill slits in total, has baffled experts.

It's possible the swellshark is albino or leucistic, explaining the lack of pigmentation, but the missing gill slits are harder to figure out. It was released back into the ocean after being caught, so it's likely we'll never be able to unravel the mystery.