Only around 5% of the world has been explored by humans, despite the ocean making up 70% of the planet. It is well known that we know very little about the ocean and that we still have a lot to learn.
Some intriguing questions were recently raised by an odd sea creature that washed up on a beach in California. To learn all that transpired, continue reading.
The deep ocean is home to innumerable animals that humans have not yet found. The vastness and depth of the oceans make it practically difficult for humans to fully explore them, which contributes to our limited understanding of the ocean and the marine life that lives there.
Another reminder of how little we actually understand about the ocean came last week when a deep-sea monster washed up on the coast of California.
At Laguna Beach’s Crystal Cove State Park, an odd species washed up on the coast on October 13. The California park described it as a Pacific footballfish in a Facebook statement. Because of its harsh habitat, the fish usually lives in the darkest depths of the sea and is rarely seen by humans.
“Can you guess who washed up just in time for Friday the 13th?” was the remark, which expressed surprise at its finding. At Crystal Cove State Park, it’s angler fish number two! “The same species of angler fish, Pacific Football Fish, was discovered onshore by a park visitor in May 2021, creating quite the buzz,” it went on. Last Friday, October 13th, two years later, the same species of fish washed up once more. They posed the bone-chilling question, “What does it all mean?” which made people wonder how this incident could have happened.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has taken the spooky-looking animal “for further research,” the statement said.
The statement stated that more than 200 species of anglerfish are known to inhabit the world’s waters. “Only females have a long stalk on the head with bioluminescent tips that is used as a lure to entice prey in pitch-black water as deep as 3,000 feet,” it added.
According to the statement, the Anglerfish can swallow prey that is “the size of their own body” because of their enormous mouth and teeth that resemble “pointed shards of glass.”
Their reproductive process is amazing. The species’ females can reach a maximum length of 24 inches, but males only reach an inch. The male “latch onto the female with their teeth and become’sexual parasites,’ eventually coalescing with the female until nothing is left of their form except their testes for reproduction,” according to the statement when discussing how they reproduce.
“It is unknown how or why these fish ended up onshore,” the park said, adding that it is “very rare” to see such a fish on the shore while it is fully whole.
As scientists continue to learn more about these deep-sea creatures, it’s important to consider how much more our amazing and enigmatic ocean has to teach us. Seeing this odd and fascinating fish is a testament to the curious diversity of marine life lurking below the water’s surface in California’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In their post, Crystal Cove came to an end.
The manner a deep-sea species found its way to the coast is amazing. It begs the question of what might have caused it to migrate to shallower waters. As of right now, none of this is known!
The park claims that a similar incident occurred two years prior, and the fish discovered in May 2021 is currently housed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.
Check out the story about a youngster who finds a fish with human teeth below if you enjoyed this one!
