A toadfish, not a shark, is now thought responsible for an attack on a girl and a woman on Queensland’s Hamilton Island.

Initially, paramedics said Thursday morning’s bites on a nine-year-old girl and 60-year-old woman, believed to be her grandmother, were from the mouth of a shark.

But after speaking with experts, tourism bosses are questioning the shark bite theory.

James Cook University’s Doctor Nathan Waltham tells Luke Grant toadfish “have a very strong jawline”.

“That’s a requirement of their feeding methods. They like to move in shallow waters… they’re searching for oysters or snails or anything like that that have a hard shell.”

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