Fearsome-Looking Deep-Sea ‘Footballfish’ Washes Ashore, Baffles Experts
Beachgoers in Southern California were met with a terrifying sight when a fearsome-looking Pacific 'footballfish' washed ashore. It’s the second one to wash up at Crystal Cove State Park since 2021. Experts are baffled as to how the creature, which is a type of angler fish and normally dwells at depths of 2,000 to 3,200 feet, came to rest there. Making matters even more peculiar, the beaching occurred on Friday the 13th.
"To see an actual anglerfish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why these fish ended up onshore," Crystal Cove State Park officials stated in a Facebook post. "Their teeth, like pointed shards of glass, are transparent and their large mouth is capable of sucking up and swallowing prey the size of their own body."
A man walking on a Southern California beach Friday discovered a well-preserved carcass of a bizarre-looking fish that typically resides at depths of 2,000-plus feet.
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The 14-inch specimen recovered is certainly a female. Male angler fish grow to be only about an inch long, while females sometimes reach two feet. The sole purpose of male is to find a female mate, whom they latch onto with their teeth, becoming a “sexual parasite.” They eventually absorb into the female until only their male reproductive organs remain.
Footballfish are a type of anglerfish, which number more than 300 species worldwide, according to the California Academy of Sciences. Only 30 specimens have ever been collected, so officials are hopeful that this latest discovery will shed further light on the mysterious creature.
After carefully examining the footballfish, its corpse was turned over to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, where the 2021 specimen is also kept. There it will be well-preserved and able to be viewed by researchers and hobbyists alike.