After being rescued from a lake, a carp that has been given the nickname “Chernobyl fish” due to the fact that it has two mouths and four eyes has gone viral.

The freaky fish prompted theories that the deformation came around due to contamination in the lake it was caught in back in 2017.

However, scientists aren’t sure, saying that they would need to run tests on the specimen to determine whether contamination was a factor or not.

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For all extents and purposes, the carp looks to be healthy and fully-grown, leading one expert to theorise that contamination wasn’t a factor because that would have killed most fish in infancy.

The fish has gone viral online (Image: @closecalls7/Twitter)

University of South Carolina biologist Dr Timothy Mousseau said: “Most radiation-induced mutations lead to lower growth, survival and fertility.

“Most such ‘mutants’ do not live long enough to get so large. Most are slower, less capable and thus more likely to be eaten or die than ‘normal’ individuals.”

The scientist, who has studied Chernobyl and Fukashima extensively, added that “controlled experiments” would be needed to determine what’s wrong with the fish, most likely an Asian Carp.

“In our studies we look at hundreds, often thousands, of individuals before we can suggest that radiation was the cause,” he said.

“Without properly controlled experiments it is almost impossible to say for sure what the cause might be unless such a mutation has been observed before in other radioactive places. This is one reason we look at both Chernobyl and Fukushima.”

The creature has been dubbed ‘Chernobyl Fish’ (Image: @closecalls7/Twitter)

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The fish appears to have two mouths and four eyes. However, some scientists and social media users think that the second mouth could actually be a gaping flesh wound that healed improperly.

As for the ‘eyes’ at the top of the head, these are nostrils. One of the defining features of the Asian Carp is that the nostrils grow high on the head, above the eyes.

But none of this stopped social media users from saying the fish looked like it was caught in Chernobyl, or that it looked like Blinky – the three-eyed wonder caught in the water outside the nuclear power plant in The Simpsons.

The fish has gone viral again after it was tweeted this week by popular page Oddly Terrifying. One user responded to the video, saying: “You gotta stop fishing near Chernobyl.”

Another added: “Chernobyl fish that accidentally migrated.”

“Downstream from the nuclear plant?” asked another, while a fourth chimed in: “That is one of the most unsettling things I have ever seen.”