At first glance this hapless fish looks like a large mackerel that has swallowed a football.
But the unusual looking creature found washed up on a south coast beach is actually an exotic but deadly pufferfish, usually only found in tropical waters.
The species - a specialty in Japan - are well-known for ballooning in size by filling their bodies with water or air to deter predators.
And, judging by the size of this creature, it appears to have died while in full defensive mode, with its stomach fully inflated.
The 12 ins long specimen was found by Richard Fabbri, from Weymouth Watersports, who spotted the fish swept up on Chesil Beach in Dorset - the first time the species has been seen in the area for 30 years.
But had any beach forager picked up the silver fish and taken it home for their dinner they would have come in for a nasty shock.
All pufferfish are poisonous and carry a toxin in their internal organs that has no known antidote.
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