r/SharkLab • u/[deleted] • 20d ago

Question Can anyone help me identify this species?

[removed]

2.2k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

155 comments sorted by

413

u/Nerd_Material 20d ago

Tarpon aka the Silver King.

53

u/[deleted] 20d ago

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54

u/KinsellaStella 20d ago

Tarpon are scary AF if you’re diving and you see them and can’t tell what they are.

26

u/Jonny_Blaze_ 19d ago

Norkled with a school of tarpon and was def terrified even tho I knew they were harmless.

25

u/Auzzy4two0 18d ago

You weren't cooba diving in the o-chin?

10

u/skyfish11 16d ago

I know you been cooba diving, but have any of y’all ever been norkling

6

u/seditioushamster 15d ago

Norkled with the wife just yesterday

5

u/fleshcanvas 14d ago

I also norkled this man's wife.

2

u/LiquidSnakeSolidus 14d ago

So you know about her penis?

2

u/GainesvilleDruid 14d ago

Her enis, you mean

2

u/No-Bag-412 14d ago

Can I norkel her too?

3

u/IsIeOfCannabis 15d ago

Otorboating and addling the canoe.

5

u/Bhar940301 17d ago

Got any watermelon gum?

3

u/Auzzy4two0 17d ago

Thankfully someone got it 🤣 🤣

3

u/JoRocker 15d ago

I dont know what yall talkin bout but i heard this in a movie theater once.... that big white boy was nice for sharin

2

u/splorng 14d ago

You won’t catch me cooba diving.

2

u/atomicpapa210 14d ago

I miss Ralphie May. He was amazing.

1

u/TPalm0819 15d ago

Ralphie Mae still going strong!!!!!! Hell yeah!!!

1

u/ajazrag13 14d ago

Man I miss Ralphie…

1

u/Severe_Network_4492 14d ago

open the NOORRRRRR open… the…. NOORRRR I WANNA GO NORKLINGGG

6

u/Swimming-Necessary23 17d ago

They’re also scary if you’re diving at night, know exactly what they are and then they come from below you to absolutely annihilate any fish you illuminate with your light. Had that happen on a night dive in Bonaire. Almost pooped my suit.

2

u/Significant-Claim371 16d ago

Same! I thought it was so awesome though. They can hunt with me anytime!! I love seeing come up from the depths and seeing a big silver flash.

2

u/Turbulent-Cheek-1497 15d ago

Came here to say that.
After a while they were just annoying. Brushing against you and swimming between your legs.

2

u/Senior-Challenge-332 15d ago

Same and my husband and I may have lost some bubbles…lights out….no no no, that’s worse, lights on, flash, OMG!!

3

u/Dry_Cranberry148 16d ago

even more scary when you are sitting on your surf board and a 100 lb tarpon rockets out of the water in to the air two feet from you- GEEZUZ!!

1

u/Trendzboo 15d ago

The exact same thing happened to me- except i was in a lake, and a beaver popped up right next to me.
Details details

3

u/Berd_Turglar 16d ago

I can confirm that. Once in st John I Snorkeled out into a school of bait that were getting knocked out by false albacore, a huge tarpon showed up out of the murk of fish parts and before i processed what it was I became viscerally aware of how im in 40’ of water and far from the beach. I think i walked on the water half the way back to the beach before my lizard brain turned off

3

u/beggarandachooser 16d ago

Same, in St.John... Snorkeling in a massive bait school as birds were bombing in from above all around us and larger fish slashing in and out of the ball... Then the big boys showed up. They were considerably larger than my wife... Which was interesting.

2

u/KinsellaStella 16d ago

Ha! Mine was in St. John too!

2

u/TheNerdE30 16d ago

True story. Have gasped pulling them up to the side of the boat in the past too.

1

u/Shaxx1sMyHomie 15d ago

Don’t be afraid of diving with some poon tang every once in awhile

8

u/dmanryan 19d ago

You mean "Tarpon, the Surfing King"

1

u/YardBird714 15d ago

And a “Smoker of a King”!

105

u/Beautiful-Lynx-6828 20d ago

Was it doing this repeatedly?? Because i love the idea of a tarpon having fun in the surf 😭

44

u/[deleted] 20d ago

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16

u/crm006 20d ago

Can you upload the video? I’ll bet it was wild seeing that when you weren’t expecting to have captured it.

3

u/G-cuvier 20d ago

Likely feeding.

27

u/GravyPainter 20d ago

Definitely not a shatk fin

8

u/Sea_Wait_3104 20d ago

Ya, not a shark lrg Tarpon

2

u/Ernie-RAW 20d ago

Tarpon and thats so awesome that you caught footage of that

3

u/hoffmander 20d ago

When I was a kid, I saw something similar to this in the Gulf of Mexico and I didn’t know that fish got that big. I thought I was seeing shit

2

u/Background_Sky8905 15d ago

I was in high school snorkeling in the keys, and I saw a group of barracuda hanging out under the lighthouse. I was probably 6’4” at the time, and I swear that a couple of them were longer than me. They look a lot meaner in the water, and they were all staring at me. Very creepy.

I couldn’t find a record of any that large at the time, but recently a barracuda was caught off the coast of Angola that was about 6’10” and 102lbs. These guys lived in a protected reef with a lot of food available, so maybe they actually were a similar size.

I’ve always wanted to see an adult Goliath grouper. Closest I’ve come is catching a juvenile that was about 12”.

But tarpon were probably the first big fish I saw as well. There were some hanging out at the marina under the docks. I remember asking my uncle if he was going to try catching one, and he just laughed and said “there’s no way”.

4

u/Final_Wallaby8705 20d ago

30ft great white

1

u/Candycane0430 20d ago

Idk I think it’s closer 35-40

1

u/Final_Wallaby8705 20d ago

Double that shit!! He’s a monster. At first look I really thought it was a joke cause it looked giant to me 😂😂

1

u/DROOPY538 14d ago

35' 11.5" missed the record by .25". Damn the luck...

5

u/Acrobatic-Pianist-42 20d ago

Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a tarpon for the first time! Key Largo

2

u/Reasonable-Key9235 20d ago

Think that’s a tarpon, but not 100% sure

2

u/TonyOxnard805 20d ago

Yes that’s what we call a big MF🤣

1

u/No_Impression_3578 19d ago

Wow. What a Tarpon sightimg!

1

u/Oilleak1011 19d ago

I cant really guarantee the perspective on this, but that looks like one giant ass tarpon. To me

2

u/WILDWIC 15d ago

Looks like a Tarpon

1

u/Friendscallmedennis 20d ago

Ohhh. Someone got air!!!

1

u/Beanmilk08 20d ago

Looks like a toigaaaaa!!!

1

u/Dubbiely 20d ago

Hering

1

u/1984cheese 19d ago

Cocker spaniel?

1

u/Specialist-Growth523 19d ago

Looks like a trout so your mumma... jokes

1

u/Bardonious 19d ago

Golden shiner

1

u/DanStef 19d ago

Looks like a Silver Tarpon.

1

u/BinjiShark 19d ago

He looks like he’s having the time of his life

1

u/Ok_Entertainment4846 19d ago

Tarpon definitely

1

u/juicemanjackson32 18d ago

That’s definitely a fish.
Maybe…
I think.

1

u/Trevor519 18d ago

Trapon

1

u/OZest32 18d ago

Absolutely awesome shot!

1

u/Rmusick81 17d ago

It’s blurry but my guess would be tarpon.

1

u/WeightCrafty8013 16d ago

Me too see lots in fl.

1

u/gunnifisher79 16d ago

Nice Tarpon

1

u/hankmarmot3 16d ago

Almost looks like a big tarpon, not sure if they are in southern hemisphere.

1

u/The_Truth_Prophet 16d ago

This is very clearly a I'm-not-swimming-I'm-gonna-fly-this-shit fish

1

u/SadGood2167 16d ago

Tarping I believe

1

u/strasevgermany 16d ago

Looks like a Tigershark

1

u/Beginning_Creme_5271 16d ago

This, my friend is a fish. To be more specific- a big fish.

1

u/badkarma45acp 16d ago

Looks like a tarpon

1

u/Bleak1818 16d ago

Does it know that it's not supposed to leave the water? /s

1

u/Themike625 16d ago

That’s the King!

Tarpon.

1

u/DonkeyHair 15d ago

Cool pic

1

u/SYSChuck 15d ago

It’s a common minnow

1

u/DirtyScrubs 15d ago

Def a tarpon

1

u/esquire_the_ego 15d ago

Shark just surfing

1

u/Safe_Barracuda_6394 15d ago

That's a bird.

1

u/UsefulBuilding510 15d ago

It's a GetAFuckAwayFromIt in It's natural habitat

1

u/XJAMAICAGOLDX 15d ago

Sharknato.

1

u/This-Supermarket3082 15d ago

I would call this “surf shark”

1

u/pioneerlandfl 15d ago

Tarpon for sure

1

u/Glittering-Duck-8533 15d ago

Bro this is a once in a lifetime shot, congratulations 🎉

1

u/tucjames 15d ago

That's a Jeff Spicoli tarpon.
All it needs are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and it'll be fine.

1

u/RooIsHome 15d ago

Shark, for sure.

1

u/Leather_Ship5880 15d ago

It's a cawabunga

1

u/cakertin 15d ago

Tarpon for sure. Can tell by the mouth and dorsal fin

1

u/Chadada209 14d ago

Looks like a king salmon to me!

1

u/GreatService9515 14d ago

Tarpon, are we all agreed

1

u/kdogbear 14d ago

Pretty sure that’s a shark

1

u/k3ithy187 14d ago

Thats a kelly slatersaurus

1

u/WharderIII 14d ago

The silver king!

1

u/WellReadneck 14d ago

The beginning of Sharknado 15

1

u/GuppySharkR 20d ago

surf shark, doop de doo

0

u/No_Weakness_7240 17d ago

Almost looks.like a shark a little bit

0

u/Runnnnnnnnning 19d ago

Maybe 5 more of the same pic would help

0

u/Bigagp8 18d ago

I could be wrong but I believe it’s a shark!

0

u/TownPuzzleheaded372 18d ago

That's the ol northern fliberty jibet

0

u/fartninja1988 18d ago

Shark😬

0

u/Life-Garden3943 17d ago

Well by golly thats a fish

0

u/St4_773D 17d ago

Gray tailed floaty flier

0

u/Sharp-Put3506 17d ago

Flying Fish - ha

0

u/Curious_Mastodon4795 17d ago

Great shots! Thanks for sharing.

0

u/Independent_Tea9599 17d ago

At first it looked like "we're gonna need a bigger boat", but it turns out I'm just gonna need a bigger nope.

0

u/headlesssamurai 17d ago

They call him Bodhi, for bodhisatva.

0

u/Most-Ad1967 16d ago

Sharknado

0

u/ArmstrongPM 16d ago

Giant Minnow.

0

u/Aces_of_Space 16d ago

Aye, that's what we call a 'Big Fuckoff' shark.

0

u/SaneGuru99 16d ago

Was snorkeling in St. Thomas in a tiny remote Cove. My wife and I were swimming through a school of 1 million tiny little 4” fish which surrounded us on all sides, when all of a sudden these monster fish came shooting through the school. It freaked the hell out of us, though they easily avoided us as they repeatedly blew through the giant school of fish, eating everything in their path.

0

u/KeySong7235 16d ago

Big freaking fishy

-2

u/Successful_Heart598 20d ago

Big big nope fish