Nightmare Deep-Sea Creature Washes Ashore

Friday the 13th is a day that some people feel holds a certain power to it, more specifically that bad luck or strange things are associated with this date. Well, this superstition may actually hold true in this case as a strange creature washed ashore on Friday, October 13 that is pure nightmare fuel.

Have you ever come across a creature so strange that it defies description? On October 13, beachgoers visiting Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach were confronted with just such a sight – the dead body of an otherworldly Pacific Football Fish.

The jet-black fish featured razor-sharp teeth and was determined to be female due to its long stalked head which had bioluminescent tips used for luring prey in dark waters. Females reach up to 24 inches in length and are part of the family of anglerfish, one of over 200 species known for their complete black eyes attached flat heads and dangling bioluminescent protrusions with glowing tips.

It’s these features that enable them to attract their prey close enough to consume with their mouthful of sharp teeth – quite a feat considering they can suck in prey as large as themselves.

It has been two years since another Pacific Football Fish was discovered on May 22, 2021 when Ben Estes found an 18 inch specimen frozen into the sand which park officials later collected. Scientists made headlines back in 2018 after filming footage of live anglerfish mating for the first time – something previously only observed through dead specimens caught in nets.

The eerie video shows a tiny male clinging onto its female partner’s glowing filaments while at a depth of 2,600 feet off Portugal’s São Jorge Island. This ‘anatomical joining’ is quite unlike anything seen among humans except for rare cases involving genetically identical twins.

Crystal Cove State Park officials reflected upon this recent discovery by noting ‘seeing this strange 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). As scientists continue to learn more about these deep sea creatures, it’s important to reflect on how much is still left undiscovered’.