![]() ![]() The footballfish has typically been encountered in the sea swimming between 1,000 to 4,000 feet beneath the sea. The ichthyologist said he can tell that because the females of the species have the lure and are much larger - up to 60 times bigger - than their male counterparts, which don’t have the gnarly teeth.įun fact: The male of the species may not ever eat during its adult lifetime - “they’re just there to reproduce,” according to Frable. The one found last week and the one found in 2001 were the only two ever found locally, as far as Frable knows.īased on the images, some seaweed in the background and other clues, Frable thinks San Diego’s 2021 edition of Himantolophus sagamius is smaller, though it is a mature female fish. That specimen appears to be about 18 inches in length, and a foot from top to bottom. Scripps has in its collection another specimen, which was found on Dog Beach in Del Mar in December 2001, said Frable, who Zoomed NBC 7 from his lab, surrounded by jars of specimens and other scientific detritus. It’s tough to tell how big the fish is from the photographs that Beiler shot. “This is one of the larger species of anglerfish, and it’s only been seen a few times here in California, but it’s found throughout the Pacific Ocean,” said Ben Frable, the collection manager of the marine vertebrate collection at Scripps.īeiler’s find was a Pacific footballfish, a type of deep-sea anglerfish - once made famous in the animated movie "Finding Nemo" - with a bioluminescent light on top of its head that acts as a lure. Not being fish scientists ourselves, we reached out to the scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The photos show a mouthful of glistening knife-sharp looking teeth, a projectile flowing out of its forehead and plentiful spikes bristling from its sides. It was only days later that he thought about sending the pics to NBC 7 San Diego. "I’d say it was nearly a foot long."īeiler snapped three photos of the beast and went on his way. “It’s the stuff of nightmares - mouth almost looked bloody!” Beiler said. Device with Sealed Radioactive Material Missing in Texas
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