Belly fish makes splash

A fish eyes life inside a jelly's belly.

It has been pictured swimming inside a jellyfish off Australia's east coast in a remarkable and rare image that has gone viral, with more than two million online views.

Underwater photographer Tim Samuel was in the water with a friend near popular tourist resort Byron Bay in December last year when they came across the little creature trapped inside the only slightly larger jellyfish.

The expression on the golden fish's face - visible through the transparent jellyfish - appears to be one of fear. "He was trapped in there but controlled where the jellyfish was moving," Mr Samuel wrote in a post on Instagram.

He said that he was "completely blown away by all the attention" the photo is getting.

Marine life expert William Gladstone confirmed the rareness of the shot which has been viewed more than 2.3 million times on image hosting site Imgur.

The academic from the University of Technology in Sydney told The Sydney Morning Herald he had seen a young trevally, a species of fish, hide among jellyfish, but had "never seen one like this where the fish is just a little smaller than the jellyfish".

Mr Samuel said he had considered whether to "set the little guy free", but ultimately decided it was best to "just let nature run its course".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 10, 2016, with the headline Belly fish makes splash. Subscribe