"They're so much stockier" than other anglerfish, which come in many shapes and sizes, Frable said. (Anglerfish exhibit what's known as extreme sexual dimorphism: The males are much smaller than their female counterparts.) It's also one of the biggest species of anglerfish, with large females measuring about 12 to 15 inches. "Each one of those accessory appendages has these bright silver tips that light up as well." "It has all these accessory appendages coming off of it," he said. One of about 160 to 170 species of anglerfish, the Pacific footballfish is readily identifiable by its especially elaborate bioluminescent lure protruding from its head-a striking physical adaptation used to attract prey in the pitch-black depths, Ludt said. Ludt surmised that if there were a massive catastrophe or die-off, more would be found. The pair of recently collected specimens were remarkably well preserved and don't appear to bear marks of trauma from an attack or poisoning from something like an oil spill. "That's the million-dollar question right now," Ludt said. Scientists don't know exactly what it eats, how it reproduces-or what might be driving the cluster of sightings. With less than three dozen dead specimens available to study, very little is known about the fish that lives in depths of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 feet. They have discussed the curious occurrence, "but it's hard to jump to any conclusions about why this is happening," he said. The museum has four of the species in its collection, including one found by a beachgoer in Newport Beach in May.Įvery time one washes ashore, Ludt said, he's inundated with calls from friends and colleagues. "It is very strange, and it's the talk of the town among us California ichthyologists," or zoologists who study fish, said Bill Ludt, assistant curator of ichthyology at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. One was photographed last month near Black's Beach in La Jolla but disappeared-potentially carried back to sea-before scientists were notified. But in only the last year, three of the creatures have washed up on California beaches, doubling the number of sightings on record in the state. Only 31 collected specimens are known to exist in the world, and the fish has never been observed in the wild, Frable said. What had emerged from the depths was a Pacific footballfish, an exceedingly rare species of anglerfish that inhabits deep waters beyond the sun's reach, said Ben Frable, collection manager of marine vertebrates at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where the fish was sent.įrable is preserving the 5-pound fish for the institution's archive, "so researchers all over the world can utilize it for the years to come," he said. The Crystal Cove Conservancy explained that while it’s still unclear where this rare find will end up – either with museums or educational institutions -– it is currently being housed with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.A surfer found the ghoulish-looking, nearly 13-inch dead fish washed ashore last Friday and alerted lifeguards, who in turn notified scientists, said David Huff, a marine safety sergeant with the city of Encinitas. It’s not known yet why this 18-inch fish washed ashore almost perfectly preserved. The fleshy long dorsal fin extends in the front of the mouth and has a phosphorescent bulb on the end which can emit light to attract unsuspecting prey closer to it. Though the fish itself is not rare, it is extremely rare to see one this intact along a beach in Southern California. They also explained that this specific fish is one of more than 3,000 living species of anglerfish from around the world. The fish was identified as a deep sea Pacific footballfish, which is a species of anglerfish that are more commonly found at sea depths of more than 3,000 feet below the surface. Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox.
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