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As Hurricane Flooding Recedes, Dinosaur-Like Fish Appears

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Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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A dinosaur-like fish was found Tuesday in Florida as the storm surges from Hurricane Ian started to recede.

A local news photographer, Ulen Hodges, spotted the ancient-looking fish at one hurricane-damaged home in the Orlo Vista neighborhood in Orange County, according to WFTV9. The animal was entangled in the homeowner’s fence as flood waters surged through the neighborhood during the Category 4 storm.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission identified the fish as a gar fish, a prehistoric animal with scales that form a hard armor, WFTV9 continued. The beasts usually dwell in freshwater regions, like streams, canals, and lakes based on mud or sand near underwater vegetation.


The gar species has survived for more than 157 million years, according to Britannica. The reason for their lengthy survival is thought to be their toxic eggs, which develop rapidly after birth to inhale other species around them. (RELATED: Cowboys Rescue Elderly Man From Car Amid Hurricane Ian Flooding)

Wildlife has been significantly impacted by Hurricane Ian, with some parts of the residential devastation zone running rampant with snakes and alligators. More than 100 people were killed across Florida and North Carolina as the extreme weather event rolled over the state from the Gulf, regaining strength over the Atlantic over the course of three days in late September, early October.