Teeth sharp as glass and a look from hell. The ocean washed ashore a rare fish
Anglerfish are one of the most original-looking fish. A specimen from this order washed up in the ocean in California, and the strange creature was described by workers at a local reserve.
It has coal-black skin, a similarly colored mouth, and sharp teeth that can cut like glass. Meeting such an individual on the beach is probably an unusual experience.
Such an opportunity occurred recently to employees of Crystal Cove State Park in California. The rare fish was found on Laguna Beach last Friday. According to biologists, it is most likely a representative of the Pacific Football Fish species from the Mascaridae family, or the Pacific Football Fish, as its name could be translated into Polish.
A peculiar mascara fish from the depths of the ocean
The fish comes from the order of Angliformes, also known as legfins. How do you know it’s a female? Its size and the characteristic lure placed on its head gave it away. Its bioluminescent ends attract with their color prey from the sea depths, where fish live every day. However, this is not the end of its unusual properties.
“Its teeth, like pointed shards of glass, are transparent, and its mouth is capable of sucking in and swallowing prey of its own flesh.” – we read in the description. “Footballs” they also have peculiar mating habits. Males, which are much smaller than the female (1 inch vs. 24 inches), attach themselves to their partner’s body, becoming “sexual parasites”.
Scientists emphasize that such fish are not normally seen on the shore and it is not known what must have happened for this specimen to end up on the beach.