Photos surfaced on Monday of a beached rarely-seen fish and it truly looks like something out of a nightmare.
Pictures on Twitter show the deep-sea creature known as a Pacific footballfish that lives in depths of more than 3,000 feet below the surface, the Hill reported. It measured 18-inches. (RELATED: Fisherman Has Scary Encounter With A Big Shark In Terrifying Viral Video)
“RARE FIND! Deep sea anglerfish washed up in Newport Beach on Friday morning!” read a tweet from a deep-sea fishing and boat tour company in Orange County, California. “On Crystal Cove beach @CrystalCoveSP staff were alerted by beach visitor Ben Eslef and were able to retrieve this intact specimen..”
RARE FIND! Deep sea anglerfish washed up in Newport Beach on Friday morning! On Crystal Cove beach @CrystalCoveSP staff were alerted by beach visitor Ben Eslef and were able to retrieve this intact specimen.. pic.twitter.com/vERGy5Zujt
— Davey’s Locker (@DaveysLocker400) May 9, 2021
In the photos, one can see the monster black fish with teeth and what looks like horns across its body. It also has a large fishing pole-like projection coming out of the top of its head that helps it attract prey in the dark depths of the sea. (RELATED: Cruise Line Buys Loch Ness Monster Insurance)
Beachgoer stumbles on rarely seen deep-sea creature known as footballfish https://t.co/TZK5Ac9BN4 pic.twitter.com/HLQvgVeqRE
— The Hill (@thehill) May 10, 2021
“Though the fish itself is not rare, it is extremely rare to see on this intact along a beach in southern CA,” Davey’s Locker Sportfishing and Whale Watching wrote on Facebook.
The deep-sea creature is currently being housed with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.