A Pacific football fish washed up Oct. 13, 2023 on an Orange County beach.
An unusual looking and rarely seen fish has washed up on an Orange County beach for a second time in three years.
A Pacific football fish with a face fit for a Halloween mask was discovered Friday Oct. 13 at Newport Beach's Crystal Cove State Park. The park posted striking photos of the deep-sea creature, a species of anglerfish, last week.
Authorities with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are conducting further research on the fish, which has a gaping mouth, rows of pointed transparent teeth and a long stalk on its head with bioluminescent tips that lure prey at depth of 3,000 feet.
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The fish usually lives at depths of 2,000 to 3,300 feet in pitch black where food is scarce. Instead of searching for food, the football fish sits and waits for prey, which is basically anything that fits in its large mouth. The stalk, or esca, acts as a lure until the prey is close enough for the fish to quickly suck it into its mouth.
The esca's bioluminescence is caused by light-emitting bacteria that enter the stalk through small pores.
And, things get stranger.
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"While females can reach lengths of 24 inches males only grow to be about an inch long and their sole purpose is to find a female and help her reproduce," according to Crystal Cove State Park. "Males latch onto the female with their teeth and become 'sexual parasites,' eventually coalescing with the female until nothing is left of their form but their testes for reproduction. Wild!"
The male then becomes a permanent appendage that draw nutrition from its host and provides a source of sperm.
Another Pacific football fish washed up on the beach in May 2021. That one went on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
