This is the third deep-sea creature found dead on. Footballfish, scientifically known as Himantolophidae, are known to live in waters that are 3,000-4,000 feet deep. They lurk in the dark, waiting for fish, squid, or crustaceans to cross their paths. Because food in the depths of the ocean can be scarce, footballfish have evolved to eat whatever they can catch. A Pacific footballfish that was found on the shores of Encinitas last week is just the 31st collected. 10, is a female that weighs about 5 pounds. The fish uses this light to attract prey but scientists don’t think they’re picky when it comes to mealtime. Ultra-rare, bizarre fish that washed ashore near San Diego is California’s third this year. Despite its name, this species might not be restricted to the Atlantic Ocean, with its range possibly extending into the Indian Ocean 1 and to the Pacific Ocean. Gabrielle Canon in Los Angeles GabrielleCanon. Himantolophus groenlandicus, the Atlantic footballfish or Atlantic football-fish, is an anglerfish found primarily in mesopelagic depths of the ocean. The male becomes a permanent appendage that draws nutrition from its female host and serves as an easily accessible source of sperm. A 13-inch-long Pacific football fish was found dead on a San Diego beach. Curiously, the Pacific football fish, with spiny teeth and a bulb on its head, is the third to wash ashore this year. The males of some anglerfish species, including the football fish, have evolved into “sexual parasites.” Using well-developed olfactory organs, they find and fuse themselves to females, eventually losing their eyes, internal organs, and everything else but the testes. This species has a relatively small mouth which limits the size of prey that it is able to consume. The size of this species will vary between individuals and is largely dependent on their habitat, diet, age, and sex. The first spine of an anglefish's dorsal fins, called the illicium, extends outward to end in a fleshy, phosphorescent bulb (or esca), which the fish use to lure prey. Male and female anglerfish differ dramatically in size, with some females measuring up to ten times larger than their male counterparts. The football fish grows to an average size of 20-25cm in length and can weigh up to 600g. This was the same Pacific footballfish ( Himantolophus sagamius) we now have in our collections, and one of more than 300 living species of anglerfish (of the order Lophiiformes) found around the world. In 1985, deep-sea fishermen in Monterey Bay, California, hauled up their nets to find a menacing-looking fish with a 6-inch-long globular body, prickly skin, needle-sharp teeth, miniscule eyes, and a strange stalk on its head.
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