the tarpon and Michelangelo

Recently, I was studying the Sistine Chapel more closely, and discovered a tarpon, (megalops atlanticus) sitting next to Jonah over the Altar Wall. Now as we all know, Jonah was supposedly swallowed by a whale, or as some modern day believers suspect- maybe it was a jewfish- a member of the grouper family.
Imagine my surprise then, when I find Michelangelo has painted neither Jewfish nor whale next to Jonah, but instead- he painted a tarpon. Tarpon are ancient fish and are little are known about them even today. They frequent the waters where I live on the west coast of Florida each Spring and Summer, creating a catch and release sensation for fishermen that is thrilling beyond any imagination. Did Michelangelo catch tarpon in the Mediterranean or the Adriatic in his day? Were they common fish in the local markets or the creatures of dreams that were a rare catch in an lucky net?
As far as I know, no one has ever noticed the tarpon in the Sistine Chapel. For me, however, I dream about these fish-their silver bodies greyhounding through the celery green sea- coming together in mysterious circles-outliving most humans. As an art history major- I can’t imagine how I ever missed the large questioning eye of the tarpon, sitting calmly next to Jonah.