The parasitic males that live within the female Pacific Football Fish, which are often located hundreds of feet beneath the ocean’s waves, gradually lose their eyes, organs, and everything save their testicles.
A monstrous-looking fish has washed up on the shores of California (Image: crystalcovestateparkofficial /Facebook)
A monstrous-looking fish with teeth like shards of glass that can swallow prey whole has washed up on a beach.
The creature, believed to be a Pacific Football Fish, was found on Laguna Beach, California, in what experts say is a “very rare” event.
It is believed the football-sized creature is a female due to its size and the stalk on its head, which has bioluminescent tips to attract prey at depths of up to 3,000 feet.
The species has a rather unusual sex life, in that males attach themselves to female hosts as ‘sexual parasites’.
They eventually go blind, lose their organs and everything but their testes to serve as a source of sperm for the female.
The fish normally swims in deep ocean waters ( Image: crystalcovestateparkofficial/Facebook)
The fish, one of more than 200 species of anglerfish worldwide, has a large mouth which is capable of sucking up and swallowing prey the size of their own body.
While the species isn’t uncommon, it usually swims thousands of feet below the surface making sightings unusual.
The Pacific Football Fish has a mouth so large it can suck up prey of its own size ( Image: crystalcovestateparkofficial/Facebook)
California State Parks took to Facebook to share pictures of the “incredible” discovery as it described it as having “sharp transparent teeth” akin to “pointed shards of glass”.
“To see an actual angler fish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up on the shore,” according to a Facebook post by Crystal Cove State Park.
The spokesperson added that while females can grow up to 24 inches, males will grow to just about an inch long as their sole purpose is to help the female reproduce.
The post reads: “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.
“Seeing this strange and fascinating fish is a testament to the diversity of marine life lurking below the water’s surface.
“As scientists continue to learn more about these deep sea creatures it’s important to reflect on how much is still to be learned from our wonderful ocean.”
