MonsterQuest

MonsterQuest: Giant Killer Fish

Gigantic Killer Fish "Goliath Grouper" and "Monster Muskie"

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BEHAVIOR

The monstrous Goliath Groupers are growing ever more vicious and have been known to attack humans. They linger in dark holes under the water, waiting for their prey to swim within reach. The Monster Muskie is known to be hyper-aggressive and to attack just about anything, including increasingly, humans.

WHEREABOUTS

In the United States, the Goliath Grouper is found mainly off the coast of Florida. The Monster Muskie is known to live in the lakes and rivers of the northern Midwest.

VITAL STATS

Goliath Groupers are said to grow to eight feet long and can weigh in at more than 800 pounds. The average Goliath weighs about 300 pounds. In recent years, the Goliath population has exploded. The Monster Muskie can grow to lengths of over five feet and 70 pounds, and they sport razor-sharp teeth

RELATIVES

The supersized Goliath was once brought to extinction due to over-fishing. Now the beast is making a comeback. Its cousin, the regular sized grouper, is of the family Serranidae. Typically, groupers are brown or greenish in color. Groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites; they are born as females and transform into males later.

HISTORY

The New York Times reported in 1895 that a fisherman caught a 1,500-pound Goliath Grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. In the 1950s, two children jumped off a bridge in the Florida Keys. According to the story, they both jumped off but only one came up; the other one was said to have been killed by a Goliath Grouper.

MOST RECENT SIGHTING

Once nearly extinct, the Goliath Grouper today is now regularly seen off the coast of Florida. In some instances they have attacked humans. In 2005 a small Goliath, only about 100 pounds, bit a Florida Keys diver. It attacked and left him bleeding and with tooth marks dug into his scalp.