A Russian fisherman has discovered an ocean creature that bears a striking resemblance to a cheeseburger.
Roman Fedortsov, 39, scours for cod, haddock and mackerel on commercial trawlers and sometimes fishes up to 3,000ft below the surface.
In doing so, the Murmansk-based fisherman reels in a variety of bizarre-looking sea creatures, the latest of which has been dubbed the ‘cheeseburger with teeth’ by people online who were stunned by its unique appearance.
The main course was even accompanied by a dessert – you would be forgiven if you mistook another creature hauled to the surface by Fedortsov for a juicy jam donut.
These sea-snacks are just two of a wide variety of weird and wonderful sea critters discovered by Fedortsov, who has become somewhat of an internet sensation for his incredible photos of the alien like ocean dwellers.
Fedortsov discovered most of the creatures in the Norwegian and Barents seas in north Russia, but has also found a few strange-looking beasts in the depths of the Atlantic.
The images have left social media users stunned as Fedortsov’s profiles continue to gain masses of followers.
Curious Instagram users have been questioning what the cheeseburger-like creature is in the comments section, with more than 11,000 liking the post.
One person commented: ‘Holy c**p I didn’t even realise that was a fish, while another added: ‘I thought this was the new chicken sandwich to eat at first’.
Some of the other recent additions to Fedortsov’s collection include an alien-headed fish, and another with what looks like bizarre tentacles protruding from its mouth.
Another ancient-looking fish appears to have teeth worn down by overuse that are constantly being replaced by fresh teeth coming from the back of its mouth.
The trawlerman has become something of a celebrity online from his pictures, with many of his images going viral even though he admits that he often has little idea what most of them are, and which he shares out of curiosity.
Despite the many comments that he gets, he said that he found all of the fish fascinating and did not share the opinion of many that they were ugly monsters.
He said: ‘In their own way all of these creatures are beautiful.’
He fishes mostly in the Barents Sea, off the northern coasts of Russia, which opens into the Arctic Ocean. But he also travels to other parts of the world, including the Atlantic Ocean, off Africa.
He said that the huge array of different creatures that he was finding was confirmation of anything that so little of the ocean depths have really been explored by man.
The photographer, who studied marine science at university in Murmansk and is an expert on processing and preparing fish, has shared the bizarre images on his social media accounts.
The fisherman previously said: ‘All kinds of fish are beautiful in their own way. I can not say that they are ‘scary’ or ‘ugly’. People are very interested in unusual sea creatures,’ he added.
‘Readers have the impression that with each trawl we bring aboard unusual fish specimens,’ the fisherman added. ‘In fact, this is far from the case. It is a rarity.
‘On the other hand, even a famous fish can be photographed so that it will seem to be a ‘monster’.’ Most of the raised fish do not survive due to the difference in pressure, he added.