The Congo's Giant Tigerfish Will Totally Eat You

Most of the terrifying sea creatures featured on these pages make for pretty intense nightmares, but most don't pose a threat to humans (except maybe for this Amazonian pacu fish, which will totally bite your nads off). But that's not the case for the Goliath Tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath), which has more in common with the giant flesh-ripping carnivores in the Piranha movies than actual piranhas.

 

 

Native to the Congo river in Africa, the Goliath can grow to over 5 feet long and weigh over 150 pounds. Combine that with massive, razor-sharp teeth and a ferocious predatory nature, and you've got a real-life sea monster like no other. 

 

Tigerfish can hunt in packs, but the larger ones tend to go solo, drifting in the currents until they catch sight of a target, then zoom in for the kill (they're also among the world's fastest water predators). This beast is not easily intimidated, so if you're in its way, chances are you'll get chomped.

 

 

Goliath is so savage that cultures along the Congo believe the fish is possessed by the evil spirit “Mbenga,” and in this clip from Animal Planet's River Monsters, you can see why Jeremy Wade (shown above) calls the Goliath “the ultimate river monster.”