The collection manager of the marine vertebrate collection at Scripps, Ben Frable, spoke with NBC San Diego and said that based on the pictures, it seemed the specimen was a mature female. When prey swim up to the esca, the footballfish sucks the prey into its mouth and its teeth quickly close over the unlucky victim, ensuring they can’t escape.īeiler happened to snap three photos of the fish washed up on the beach, which were shared by 619 News Media: Since there’s no sunlight that deep, the footballfish can’t be picky in what it eats and feeds on just about anything that will fit in its mouth, including other fish, squid, and crustaceans.Īccording to the California Academy of Sciences, the Pacific footballfish have sharp teeth that angle inward.
Photo: flickr/NOAA Ocean Exploration & ResearchĪs pictured in Finding Nemo, the football fish has a glowing esca that hangs over its head and lures prey near. The foot-long fish ended up being a Pacific footballfish ( Himantolophus sagamius), a rare deep-sea species that typically lives 2,000+ feet below the surface. It’s the stuff of nightmares - mouth almost looked bloody!” At first, he thought it was a jellyfish, but further inspection revealed it was something much rarer than that.Īs Beiler shared with NBC San Diego, “I saw that it was this very unusual fish. While out for a stroll on Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego, California, Jay Beiler noticed something unusual washed ashore.
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