MIAMI — Its waters are already infested by man-eating alligators and razor-toothed sharks, but now Florida residents are being warned of another peril — flying fish.

A prehistoric fish has literally leapt its way to the top of the Sunshine State’s wildlife danger list after a series of incidents that have left dozens of river users injured.

Officials at Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission have launched a campaign to warn people that a brush with an “armorplated” sturgeon — an endangered species that dates back 225 million years and can grow to 8 feet and weigh 200 pounds — could send them to the surgeon.

Some of the victims have been knocked overboard, rendered unconscious, and even left in a coma after giant Gulf sturgeon jumped out of the Suwannee River and slapped them with their rock-hard scales. Other injuries have included a fractured spine, a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, slit throat, broken ribs, and wounds that have required plastic surgery.

One woman had to have three fingers re-attached and another amputated, and two men suffered multiple injuries after they accidentally steered their boat into a bridge in an effort to avoid a leaping sturgeon.

“These fish don’t mean any harm — it’s not an attack so much as a collision,” explained Major Bruce Hamlin, regional commander for the FFWC’s north-central region.

“At times, they are jumping quite frequently and with the low water conditions, people in boats are more confined and the fish are more confined on the same pathways.”