Source: Tim Samuel Photography
This little fish caught inside of a jellyfish is rethinking every move it’s ever made.
The once-in-a-lifetime shot was captured by Australian photographer Tim Samuel late last year, but only recently went viral after being republished by Discover Ocean. The fish was found in the Byron Bay on the coast of North South Wales, Australia. Samuel spotted the little guy about 50 meters from shore and knew he had to capture the rare sighting.
A photo posted by Tim Samuel (@timsamuelphotography) on
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“The ocean has all sorts of weird and wonderful things,” he told BuzzFeed News, “but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I guess that’s why this photo is getting so much attention – it seems to be quite the rarity.”
Samuel was out with videographer Franny Plumridge hoping to capture turtles when they came across the fish.
“There were no other fish in sight,” he shared with CNN. “I just stumbled upon it.”
The pair then followed the fish for about 20 minutes. Samuel explained that it seemed like the fish was the “one propelling the jellyfish forward, although they were both a bit wobbly.”
“We contemplated setting the little guy free, but ultimately just let nature run its course,” Samuel explained.
Associate professor Ian Tibbetts, a fish biologist at the Centre for Marine Science at the University of Queensland, explained that the fish could be a juvenile trevally, “which are known to seek shelter among the stingers of certain jellyfish.”
In this case it seems like the fish got a little lost and ended up getting stuck inside.
“It’s difficult to tell whether disaster has just struck, or whether the fish is happy to be in there,” Tibbetts shared. “Although by the photographer’s description of the fish swimming, my guess is that it is probably quite happy to be protected in there.”
