To say that twin brothers Dino and Dario Ferrari reeled in a big one from the Po River of northern Italy is, well, a bit of an understatement.
This is a wels catfish (Silurus glanis), a large species found in the freshwater rivers and lakes of Europe, from up in the United Kingdom, all the way east in Kazakhstan, and then in Greece right down south. After the beluga sturgeon, it's the largest known species of freshwater fish, thought to grow up to 4 metres long and a whopping 400 kg (800 pounds). That's equivalent to four baby elephants.
This one, caught by the Ferrari brothers, is estimated to weigh around 127 kg (280 pounds), and Dino told Nick Squires at The Telegraph that it's probably about 30 years old. What's sad about the catch is these fish can live to the age of 50, which means it probably had a whole lot more growing to do. (*edit: we've found out the fish was caught and then released - a much happier result!)
"They don't range over very large distances, they tend to live in the same stretch of river, moving just a few kilometres either way. They eat all types of fish," Dino told The Telegraph. "To catch them you need a lot of patience but also physical strength. We fought for 40 minutes to reel it in. We tired it out and then lifted it out of the water."
Head to Nick Squires' article about the fish to see more pictures of this incredible creature.
Source: The Telegraph