Rare deep-sea angler fish found near Cannon Beach
SEASIDE Ore. (KPTV) – A rarely seen deep-sea fish was found on a beach just south of Cannon Beach, the Seaside Aquarium announced Saturday.
According to the aquarium, the angler fish – a Pacific football fish – was found by local beachcombers, and is the first football fish reported found on an Oregon beach. Previously, 31 specimens have been reported found, spread across New Zealand, Japan, Russia, Ecuador, Chile, and in the U.S. – in Hawaii and California.
The fish live in complete darkness around 2,000 to 3,300 feet below the surface.
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The aquarium said that, like other angler fish, football fish attract prey using light that shines from a phosphorescent bulb on their forehead, and eat anything that can fit into their mouths.
Only females actively hunt. The males are 10 times smaller than females, which they fuse themselves onto. They lose their eyes and internal organs and get all their nutrients from their female partners. In return, they provide females with a steady source of sperm. How males find females in the pitch dark is not yet known.
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