Murmansk (Russia) - The purest horror. A particularly strange creature was caught by fishermen in the North Pacific.

Roman Fedortsov often uses social media to show what he gets up to on board a Russian ocean-going trawler.

Now, however, the sailor has shared pictures that will send shivers down the spines of the most squeamish of viewers.

The creature appears to be the size of a soccer, has almost square proportions and a menacing face. Fine blood vessels can be seen under the shimmering purple skin and the mouth is half-open. The internet reacts with irritation.

Many users feel reminded of "aliens" or their "morning face", while others think the creature is "the dark lord", with one user asking: "Alien or Predator?"

Fish fluencer Roman explains what it really is. According to the experienced sailor, it is a fairly common fish.

"It's a smooth lumpfish," explains the deep-sea fisherman and adds, "Aptocyclusventricosus is a species of fish from the sea hare family and lives in the North Pacific."

The species is closely related to the lumpfish, an edible fish that is not only prized by connoisseurs for its caviar. But the scary fish is also "edible", emphasizes the sailor.

Smooth lumpfish grow to around 40 centimetres in size and weigh up to 5 kilos. Although they are considered to be deep-sea fish and venture to depths of up to 1700 meters, they occasionally come close to the surface. These fascinating predatory fish prefer to prey on jellyfish, sometimes also crabs.

Earlier, another, no less strange fish was discovered on a beach in Singapore. An eerie stargazer had burrowed into the sand and snapped at a photographer.