Recently, a ghastly-looking, pitch-black monster fish corpse washed up on the coast of Oregon in the United States. The species is adorned with spikes and saw-like teeth, with a tentacle hanging from its head, resembling an alien creature. While it remains unknown as to why this rare creature ended up stranded on the beach, researchers are thrilled by this new discovery.
Oregon residents stumbled upon the almost intact carcass of this eerie sea creature while scavenging at the southern end of Cannon Beach. The fish’s grotesque appearance, dark complexion, spiky skin, and menacing teeth left it sprawled on the beach. Astonished, they immediately notified the local Seaside Aquarium.
The Seaside Aquarium later announced on their Facebook page that experts identified the strange creature as a Pacific Football fish, a species of angler fish from the deep sea. The specimen discovered was a female fish.
“These fish typically dwell in deep sea environments ranging from 2000 to 3300 feet (approximately 610 meters to 1005 meters), making them hard to come across. Prior to this, only 31 specimens of this organism had been collected worldwide,” the research institute wrote in a post. “While there have been records from places like New Zealand, Japan, Russia, Hawaii, Ecuador, Chile, and California in the United States, as far as we know, this discovery on the coast of Oregon marks a first.”
It is understood that there are over 200 species of angler fish in the deep sea worldwide, with the Pacific Football fish being the largest known species. Females can grow up to 61 centimeters in length, approximately 10 times larger than males. The teeth of this organism are sharp and transparent like glass shards. Due to the scarcity of food in the deep sea, these fish are not picky eaters; anything that can fit into their mouths could potentially become their meal.
Furthermore, there is a significant difference between male and female individuals of this fish species. Only female Pacific Football fish have a long filament extending from their forehead, with a unique organ resembling a “light bulb” at the tip, used to lure prey in the pitch-black seabed. The minute male fish lack such appendages and, upon finding a female fish in the deep sea, parasitize themselves onto the female, gradually losing their eyes and internal organs in the process. They entirely rely on the female partner for nutrients needed for survival, only providing sperm for reproduction.
The Seaside Aquarium explained that little is known about the life history of this species, but the existing information is already fascinating.
As for how males locate females in the completely dark depths of the ocean, it remains a mystery, and experts cannot explain why these deep-sea monster fish have been washing ashore more frequently in recent years. Therefore, scientists eagerly await further understanding of this marvelous and mysterious marine creature.