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A morbid , pitch - black fish with a long stalk on its head recently washed up on a beach in Southern California — the second of its kind to end up onshore there in recent years , Crystal Cove State Park officials announced Oct. 17 .
expert identified the outre - looking brute as a female Pacific footballfish ( Himantolophus sagamius ) , a species ofanglerfishthat lives in the Pacific Ocean at depth of 2,000 to 3,300 feet ( 600 to 1,000 meters ) . It follows anearlier stranding in May 2021 , when a visitor at the state green discovered another Pisces of the same species on the shoring .
Pacific footballfish (Himantolophus sagamius) is one of more than 300 species of anglerfish living in the deep sea worldwide.
" To see an actual anglerfish inviolate is very uncommon and it is strange how or why these Pisces ended up onshore , " Crystal Cove State Park officials wrote in aFacebook post . " Their tooth , like pointed shard of glass , are limpid and their expectant mouth is capable of suck up and swallowing target the size of their own consistency . "
Pacific footballfish are one of more than 300 species of anglerfish living in the recondite sea worldwide , accord to theCalifornia Academy of Sciences . Female angler fish can grow up to 24 inch ( 61 cm ) long — about 10 time as gravid as some of their male counterparts , which have evolved to latch onto female and act as lifelongparasitic providers of spermatozoon on - tap .
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Female anglerfish possess a bioluminescent lure on their heads to attract prey.
" Only female possess a long stalk on the head with bioluminescent tips used as a lure to entice quarry , " park officials write in the postal service . The males of some species fuse their blood stream with their server ’s , " eventually coalescing with the female until nothing is left of their manakin but their testes for reproduction , " they added .
A seasonal lifeguard discovered the dead anglerfish on Moro Beach close to the lifeguard headquarters , " just in metre for Friday the 13th , " the official wrote . It was later picked up by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for analysis .
The specimen evaluate about 14 inch ( 36 cm ) from mouth to tail fin , Michelle Horeczko , a senior environmental scientist executive program with the Department of Fish and Wildlife , tell theLos Angeles Times . Only 30 or so specimens of this species have been pile up globally , she aver , so the discovery will render worthful entropy about the life of Pacific footballfish .
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After canvas the fish , scientists turn over it over to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles , where the Pacific footballfish discover in 2021 is also housed , " so that the specimen can be preserve and available for scientific research , " Horeczko articulate .
While the reasonableness for the stranding stay a mystery , " seeing this strange and enthralling Pisces the Fishes is a testament to the curious variety of marine life lurk below the water ’s surface in California ’s marine protected surface area , " the Facebook mail service said .
