Rarely seen ‘football fish’ that lives in complete darkness has been found south of Cannon Beach, aquarium reports
CANNON BEACH, Ore. (KTVZ) – A rarely seen fish that lives in complete darkness has been found by beachcombers just south of Cannon Beach, the Seaside Aquarium reported Saturday.
The deep-sea angler fish, also called a Pacific football fish, lives at 2,000 to 3,300 feet depths. The aquarium says only 31 specimens have been recorded around the world, from New Zealand and Japan to Russia, Hawaii, Ecuador, Chile and California, but this is the first report on the Oregon coast, to their knowledge.
""Little is known about their life history, but what is known is unusually fascinating," the aquarium's Facebook post said.
"Like other angler fish, they use light that shines from a phosphorescent bulb on their forehead to attract prey. Food at the depths that these guys peruse can be very sparse, so football fish are not picky eaters. They eat anything that can fit into their mouths.
"Only females actively hunt, as the males are actually more like parasites. Males being 10 times smaller than females, find a female to fuse themselves to. They lose their eyes and internal organs, getting all their nutrients from their female partners. In return, they provide females with a steady source of sperm. How the males find the females in the pitch dark is still unknown."
