Angler reels in rare toothy fish from Maryland creek

Oct. 3 (UPI) -- An angler casting his line in a Maryland creek reeled in something highly unusual for the state: a fish with a full set of human-like teeth.

Jeremy Cooper said he initially thought he had caught a sunfish in Conococheague Creek in Kemps Mill, but he soon noticed the fish had a mouth full of human-like teeth.

Cooper sent photos of the fish to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which identified it as a red-bellied pacu, a South American fish related to the piranha.

Pacu fish aren't native to Maryland waters, but have been spotted in the state's waterways seven times since 1995, most recently in the Gunpowder River in 2006.

The Department of Natural Resources said pacu are frequently kept in private aquariums, which was the likely origin of Cooper's catch.

"The fish was most likely released from someone's aquarium," a spokesperson told WMAR-TV . "We never encourage people to release their pets to Maryland's waters because of the threat of introducing a species that could establish itself or the threat of introducing disease."

Oklahoma boy Charlie Clinton, 11, made headlines last year when he caught a pacu in a neighborhood pond. State officials that fish was also most likely an illegally-released pet.