A Pacific football fish, a spooky looking creature similar to that featured in the film Finding Nemo, has washed up on a beach in California.
It’s a species of anglerfish that somehow found its way from ocean depths to the shores of Newport Beach.
They are known to lurk in waters up to 3,000 ft (914m) deep.
“To see an actual anglerfish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up on the shore,” the Crystal Cove State Park said.
“Their teeth, like pointed shards of glass, are transparent and their large mouth is capable of sucking up and swallowing prey the size of their own body,” it added.
Not something we pulled onto the boat today but still an AMAZINGLY RARE FIND off of local @newportbeach at Crystal Cove…
Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching, which is based in the area, said that state park rangers and lifeguards were alerted to a “weird looking fish”.
Although the fish itself is not rare, “it is extremely rare to see one this intact along a beach” in southern California, it said in a post.
The California Department of Fish & Wildlife has taken possession of the fish.
‘A fish jumped out of the sea and stabbed my neck’
