The underwater world is a vast and terrifying one. Well, it’s terrifying if you’re scared of the unknown, the watery depths, pitch darkness, and fish that look like a cross-over between Pokémon and “Resident Evil.” There’s a lot about oceans we don’t know, thanks in large part to the tremendous amount of pressure that water exerts the deeper you dive. So when something from those depths wash ashore, it’s something to take note of. Such is the case of what was found on a California beach on Friday the 13th.
The Pacific footballfish is a type of anglerfish, largely recognizable by the bioluminescent “lantern” attached to its forehead. Because this fish generally lives at a depth of around 3,000 feet, it’s not common for it to be seen washed up on a beach. And if remains are found they’re generally not intact; especially to the extent that this recent one is.
Crystal Cove State Park went into detail about this fish, and how it’s actually the second one to be found in two years at that park. Fascinatingly, it’s only the female of the species that becomes as large as this one. The males are only about an inch long and essentially only serve to latch onto the female and become physically absorbed into their bodies. Only the testes remain to continue impregnating the female.
How rare is it to find one of these Pacific footballfish intact? Well, there’s only 31 complete specimens that are located in museums across the world. So for two of these samples to wash up on the same beach, so intact, is kind of a lucky find for ichthyologists. At the same time, it also means that something is causing these fish to show up more frequently. It could be a completely random coincidence, but given the human impact on the environment, there’s always a concern that this could be linked to climate change.
For the moment, this is a supremely interesting discovery given how intact the fish is. According to the Crystal Cove State Park, the fish is now in the possession of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Should the fish somehow come back to life, evolve into a creature that can breathe on land, and come to kill us all, we’ll keep you updated.
