![]() ![]() "That's the million-dollar question right now," Ludt said. Scientists don't know exactly what it eats, how it reproduces-or what might be driving the cluster of sightings. With less than three dozen dead specimens available to study, very little is known about the fish that lives in depths of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 feet. They have discussed the curious occurrence, "but it's hard to jump to any conclusions about why this is happening," he said. The museum has four of the species in its collection, including one found by a beachgoer in Newport Beach in May.Įvery time one washes ashore, Ludt said, he's inundated with calls from friends and colleagues. "It is very strange, and it's the talk of the town among us California ichthyologists," or zoologists who study fish, said Bill Ludt, assistant curator of ichthyology at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. One was photographed last month near Black's Beach in La Jolla but disappeared-potentially carried back to sea-before scientists were notified. But in only the last year, three of the creatures have washed up on California beaches, doubling the number of sightings on record in the state. Only 31 collected specimens are known to exist in the world, and the fish has never been observed in the wild, Frable said. What had emerged from the depths was a Pacific footballfish, an exceedingly rare species of anglerfish that inhabits deep waters beyond the sun's reach, said Ben Frable, collection manager of marine vertebrates at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where the fish was sent.įrable is preserving the 5-pound fish for the institution's archive, "so researchers all over the world can utilize it for the years to come," he said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.A surfer found the ghoulish-looking, nearly 13-inch dead fish washed ashore last Friday and alerted lifeguards, who in turn notified scientists, said David Huff, a marine safety sergeant with the city of Encinitas. He hopes to add the Newport Beach discovery for future researchers. The museum only has three anglerfish specimens in its collection of about 3 million fish, Ludt said, and only one is from California. “It’s not something that comes up too often, especially in the condition that it’s in,” Ludt said. The anglerfish is not a rare species itself, Ludt said, but he found it unusual for one to wash ashore. Still, the sight of the fish surprised some experts for its near-perfect condition. “I couldn’t speculate on how it ended up on the beach, but it is not entirely uncommon for deep-water species to occasionally do so,” Ugoretz wrote in an email. We were all just geeking out over the fact it was there.”Īs of Monday morning, the fish was frozen at Crystal Cove State Park while state officials sorted out where it would ultimately be placed, according to John Ugoretz of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “For it to just float up and show up on a local beach off our California coast, many things had to go right for that to happen. “They’re just so deep that not a lot of people get to see them or study them,” Roame said. The anglerfish usually live around 3,000 feet below the water’s surface, according to Roame. ![]() “This one is a very elaborate, complex lure that is pretty easy to tell it apart from other fishes,” said Bill Ludt, assistant curator of ichthyology at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. Children may recognize the swimmer from “Finding Nemo,” when an anglerfish attracts Dory and Marlin to its light before chasing them. The anglerfish is generally known by the luminescent bulb that dangles on a rod atop its head, drawing prey like fish to bait - literally. Not something we pulled onto the boat today but still an AMAZINGLY RARE FIND off of local at Crystal Cove.Posted by Davey's Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching on Saturday, May 8, 2021
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