(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Epipelagic)
A strange deep-sea creature was found dead on a beach in Oregon, and experts had identified it.
Strange Deep-Sea Creature Washed Ashore in Oregon
A deep-sea monster was found dead on the Oregon coast. It had teeth like sharp glass fragments and "light-bulb" antennae hanging from its head.
This month, people visiting Cannon Beach noticed a dead midnight black fish in the white sands. A Pacific football fish, also known as an anglerfish, reportedly resides in total darkness between 2,000 and 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface. The Seaside Aquarium confirmed the sighting in a post on Facebook.
The Aquarium said it was the first time an anglerfish had been discovered in Oregon and the 32nd time humans had seen the deep-sea creature.
Conversely, reports of football fish have been made in California, Hawaii, Ecuador, Chile, Russia, Japan, and New Zealand.
Although little is known about these creatures and their past, they are fascinating. They reportedly lure prey with light from a phosphorescent bulb on their forehead.
Pacific football fish are not picky eaters because food can be very scarce at the depths where they live. They reportedly consume anything that fits in their mouths.
Males are more like parasites to their partners because only females actively hunt. Because they are ten times smaller than females, males look for a female to fuse with.
The males rely solely on their female spouses for nourishment while losing their eyes and internal organs. In exchange, they give females a consistent supply of sperm. How the males locate their potential partners in a pitch-black environment remains unknown.
The anglerfish family of bony fish includes more than 200 species, of which Pacific Football fish are a member. Their flat head is adorned with black eyes that give off a lifeless stare. An unusual feature of anglerfish is a hanging bioluminescent projection extending from their face to pursue prey.
Similar Sighting in 2021
Crystal Cove State Park near Laguna Beach also reported a similar sighting in 2021. The park shared a few eye-catching photos of the dead anglerfish on Facebook.
The deep sea creature appeared to have been painted by a particularly vigorous fantasy artist. The strange species washed ashore on a California coast, inspiring some bizarre pictures of the striking fish.
Ben Estes, a beachgoer, discovered the fish first and took a picture. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured the 18-inch (45-centimeter) fish. Although the fish isn't particularly rare, California State Parks acknowledged that seeing it on the shore was an extremely uncommon sight.
Crystal Cove State Park provided a variety of other descriptive terms for the species, such as "strange," "fascinating," and "incredible." It also described the anglerfish's teeth as somewhat "like pointed shards of glass."
"To see an actual anglerfish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up on the shore," the park wrote.
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