Beachcombers in San Diego got the fright of their lives when they spotted a grotesque-looking sea creature washed ashore on Torrey Pines State Beach last Tuesday. The discovery made waves online after images and videos of the eerie flotsam surfaced.
Jay Beiler, who stumbled upon the creature, initially mistook it for a jellyfish, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a fish. By then, a crowd had gathered to marvel at his find, which he described as “the stuff of nightmares.” His photos showed the creature with rows of undulating teeth and a fleshy tassel on its head, as though it were designed by Tim Burton.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography later identified the creature as a Pacific Footballfish, one of the larger species of anglerfish that can reach a maximum length of 2 feet. This oceanic predator is notable for its fleshy, bioluminescent head protrusion that it uses to lure small prey, hence its “angler” namesake, according to the California Academy of Sciences.
