Bizarre fish spotted for the first time in North America

Experts say the fish is a long way from home

A gigantic fish -- the over-sized version of what you'd expect to see in a home aquariaum -- has washed ashore on a southern California beach.

The two-metre-long fish was a long way from home.

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In fact, experts say it's usually found on the other side of the world.

It's been identified as a "hoodwinker sunfish" and this is the first time one has been seen in North America.

Marianne Nyegaard, a marine scientist who discovered the species in 2017, says the only known sightings in modern history have been in Australia, New Zealand South America and Chile.

"This is why it's so intriguing why it has turned up in California," Nyegaard told CNN.

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"We know it has the temperate distribution around here and off the coast of Chile, but then how did it cross the equator and turn up by you guys? It's intriguing what made this fish cross the equator."

Nyegaard and her team plan to study the fish further to determine how it wound up so far from home.

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