Роман Федорцов is certainly no longer a strange name to those who love stories about strange sea creatures. He regularly shares pictures and videos of strange fish caught by his fishing boat during deep-sea fishing. His Instagram account (@rfedortsov_official_account) currently has more than 600,000 followers, and every time he posts a special image, it immediately becomes a hot topic of discussion on social networks.

This time, the strange creature that Fedortsov caught was called "alien head" by netizens. Its shape was really unusual: the body was swollen to the sides, looking like a large head; the eyes bulged forward like deep eye sockets; the mouth was wide open, creating a mysterious and scary appearance. Some social media users joked that it could be the body of an alien, or even their pet. Some comments expressed fear: “Destroy it immediately, don’t let things like this appear again!” .

However, some more realistic netizens said that it could be a mutant fish due to environmental impact. Some even linked it to past nuclear disasters, sarcastically asking: “Is this fishing in Chernobyl or Fukushima?” .

Fact: This is a deep-sea fish

Despite its terrifying appearance, according to Роман Федорцов , this creature is actually a deep-sea fish called the Bering Sea halibut (Aptocyclus ventricosus), also known as the smooth flounder. This is a species of the Cyclopteridae family, living in the deep waters of the North Pacific Ocean, especially from the waters off North Korea to the Bering Sea, Canada. They can be found at depths of up to 1,700 meters below the surface.

Typically, the Bering Sea halibut is round in shape, with a smooth body without scales. The maximum length can reach more than 40 cm. The most notable feature of this fish is its very large pectoral fins, which develop into a suction-like structure that helps them grip the seabed. This fish mainly feeds on jellyfish, zooplankton and small crustaceans.

What is special is that during the breeding season, they move to shallower waters (about 10 meters) to lay their eggs. After spawning, the female will return to the deep sea, while the male stays behind to guard the eggs for about 40 days, until they hatch.

Why do deep sea fish deform when they reach the surface?

The strange shape of the Bering Sea halibut that Роман Федорцов caught is not a sign of mutation or aliens, but a consequence of the huge difference in water pressure when being pulled up from the bottom of the deep sea.

In the deep sea environment, the water pressure is extremely high. It is estimated that at a depth of about 6,000 meters, the pressure can be equivalent to an elephant standing on your thumb in all directions. Although the Bering Sea halibut does not live at that depth, it has adapted to the deep sea environment by having a soft body and few bones, because the water pressure plays a role in keeping its body structure.

When the fish is suddenly pulled up to shallow water, the pressure outside drops sharply, causing the internal organs to swell. This happens because deep-sea fish contain gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, which are compressed in a high-pressure environment. When they leave that environment, the gases in the body expand rapidly, causing the tissues to be pushed out or even rupture, creating the monstrous shape seen in the video.

This condition is similar to decompression sickness in divers when they rise to the surface too quickly, causing the dissolved gases in the body to not have time to adapt, causing dangerous symptoms.

Although not an alien creature, this discovery once again shows that the world at the bottom of the deep sea still has many mysteries that humans cannot fully understand. Fish species such as the Bering Sea round-bellied fish are a testament to the amazing adaptation of creatures to the harsh conditions of the ocean, at the same time raising interesting questions about deep sea creatures that we have yet to fully explore.