MOMBASA, Kenya: Kenyan Muslims are flocking here by the hundreds to see a tuna fish caught in the Indian Ocean this week with a Quranic verse apparently embedded in its scales.

Dubbed the "wonder fish" by locals in this port city, the 2.5-kilo (5.5-pound) tuna has attracted so much attention it has been placed in the custody of the National Fisheries Department for safekeeping, officials said.

The otherwise ordinary fish caught the attention of fishmonger Muhammad Awadh who pulled it out of a catch when he noticed what seemed to be Arabic writing among the scales near its tail, they said.

Arabic scholars examined the fish and determined the writing was a Quranic verse meaning "God is the greatest of all providers," said Hassan Mohamed Hassan, an education officer with the National Museums of Kenya in Mombasa.

Muslims and curiosity seekers flocked to Awadh's Takaungu Fresh Fish Shop to see the tuna, prompting concerns for its safety and its removal to a refrigerated locker at the fisheries department.

In March, a pair of fish was found in a pet shop in the British city of Liverpool which appeared to bear the words "Allah" and "Muhammad" on their scales.