What Is 'Sacabambaspis,' The Viral Fish Taking Over Art Twitter?

If you've seen artwork of a goofy lil fish guy with big dumb eyes and a shocked expression on the timeline, chances are you've stumbled upon Sacabambaspis, an exceedingly silly ancient fish that lived in the ancient Ordovician period. After a wacky model of the extinct fish found its way into a Finland museum, it was really a matter of time before the fish became a meme, and after some years of gestation, the time has come.

What is "Sacabambaspis?"

Sacabampaspis is an extinct species of fish whose model exists in The Museum of Helsinki, Finland. It made its big online debut in August of 2022, when Twitter user Kat Turk took a photo of the animal's face, as imagined by its model-makers.

The tweet went viral, as it should because this is a very silly-looking fish. However, it wasn't until roughly a year later that Sacabambaspis started becoming a meme.

How Did "Sacabampaspis" Become A Meme?

While the fish had its viral moment in the sun, it wasn't until it began getting shared in Japanese forums that it began gaining momentum as a meme. 2chan started joking about the fish in the spring of 2023, and soon it began making appearances in the wild, at school festivals and as costumes. On May 9th, online artist Basupisu released a series of Sacabampaspis stickers for LINE, at which point it began becoming a full-fledged meme.

Japanese artists began sharing depictions of the fish over the following weeks, which in turn inspired Western artists. In most cases, artists will depict the fish in a way that emphasizes its mildly surprised, friendly face, usually by placing it in a friendly situation.

For more information, check out the KnowYourMeme encyclopedia page on Sacabambaspis.