From David Emery of About.com: Urban Legends
Freaky Fish Found on a Tampa Bay Beach
Summary: Emailed photos show the carcass of a very strange fish with monstrous teeth allegedly washed up on a beach in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Circulating since: July 2006
Status: Fake
Identified in some versions of the email as a “Devil Fish,” the gruesome specimen in the preceding photographs doesn’t really exist. It’s a fine example of what is called “gaff art” “” the manufacture of sideshow artifacts or fake oddities out of the preserved body parts of real animals using taxidermy and prop-building techniques. It was first sighted in an eBay auction dated May 2006, where it was described as a “mummified sea monster corpse.” The winning bidder paid $637.
It was created by Florida artist Juan Cabana, who was also responsible for the creepy “merman or mermaid carcass” allegedly found washed up on beaches from South Africa to south Florida. Continue reading “Freaky Fish — You should have seen the one that got away!”