Aussie beachgoer spots deadly threat expertly camouflaged in the sand - but can YOU find the 'almost impossible to see' creature?

A viral photo has showcased the extraordinary camouflage abilities of what is considered the world's most dangerous fish - as it's spotted nestled among sand and debris on a beach.

The photo, of an Estuarine Stonefish washed up somewhere on the Australian coastline, was posted online on Monday to show how easy it is to miss the potentially fatal fish. 

The picture shows the fish just barely above the water's edge, where it can survive off just fresh air for up to about 24 hours. 

The poisonous fish can be found in warmer waters across the continent's northern coastline, from northern NSW to just above Perth and across across the Indo-Pacific region. 

Many victims accidentally step on the stonefish's venomous spines on beach walks. 

Many Australians shared their own close calls with the fish. 

'Hard to see them isn’t it, makes them more dangerous,' one social media user wrote.

'I always thought they only hid in the shallows under the water. How silly I am, I would have stood on that.'

'My son stepped on one, 3 spikes in his foot,' another wrote. 'He said it was the most painful thing that's ever happened to him.

'This from a boy that shattered 3 of the bones in his hand and required pin surgery.'

'When we were living in the tropical Islands we always ensured our two children and ourselves shuffled our feet through the sea bottom,' another user wrote.

'The stone fish would be alerted and swim off and wouldn't get stood on causing unbelievable pain and or death.'

The fish's superb camouflage abilities allow it to ambush small fish or crustaceans that come close enough for it to attack.

Its venom is used more as a defensive weapon and is distributed along the 13 spines that line its back. They point up when the fish is threatened.

According to the Australian Museum, the spines act like syringes when pressure is applied to them. 

They rapidly inject potent venom into victims before they realise what has happened.

'The Reef Stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world... The venom causes intense pain and is believed to have killed many Pacific and Indian Ocean islanders,' The Australian Museum reads.

While having enough venom to take down a human in an hour, there have been no recorded deaths on Australian shores since European settlement in 1788. 

An anti-venom was developed in 1959.

Plunging the affected area into hot, not scalding, water can stop the venom from spreading across to the rest of the body until the antidote is administered.