A rare stranding of a Pacific football fish has been reported in California. This was reported by Live Science.
Pacific football fish (Himantolophus sagamius) is one of more than 300 species of anglerfish found in deep-sea waters around the world. The 36-centimeter-long black fish with a stalk on its head washed up on the beach at Crystal Cove Park in Southern California in October 2023.
As scientists explain, this species lives in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 600 to 1000 meters. They have transparent teeth and a wide mouth that can suck and swallow prey as large as their own bodies.
It turned out that the person was a woman. While they can reach up to 61 centimeters in length, males are about 10 times smaller: they have evolved to attach themselves to females and act as parasitic providers of reproductive cells throughout their lives.
“Only females have a long stalk with a bioluminescent tip on their head, which is used as bait to capture prey. The males of some anglerfish species fuse their circulatory system with the female, eventually mating with her until nothing is left but the testicles for reproduction.” Crystal Cove Park officials wrote in a statement.
Only about 30 specimens of this species have been collected worldwide, so this discovery will provide valuable information about the life of the Pacific footballfish.
Previous scientists discovered An ancient continent lost in the ocean.