We were about 100’ above the jagged & craggy mountain tops, just South of Patagonia’s southernmost region,Tierra del Fuego- in the Los Dientes de Navarino mountains,- when we spotted what is believed to be the last Volantes Pisces Montis (aka Flying Mountain Fish or Francisco’s Ballena Bebe – named after Argentinian explorer Francisco Moreno). The fish, likely a close relative of todays flying fish, when full grown is the size of an adult African elephant & could stay aloft for 15 minutes before needing to return to the ocean for oxygen & the salt that kept its fin skin from drying out while in flight. If you look just north of the photo’s center, you’ll see a shadow – I’m 99% certain that’s our Flying Mountain Fish. What an awesome creature!
