Rarely-Seen Deep Sea Fish Found Washed Up On California Beach

"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."

A beachgoer came across a decidedly rare sight while out for a morning stroll on California's Newport Beach on Friday. Ben Estes spotted a strange-looking, all-black fish washed up on the beach. According to NBC News, he came across the deep sea creature lying on the sand at Crystal Cove State Park and alerted park rangers about his find. Davey's Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching, a boat tour agency that operates in the area, said in a Facebook post that the deep sea creature was identified as a deep sea Pacific footballfish, which is a species of anglerfish. "It's been identified as a deep sea Pacific Footballfish, which is a species of anglerfish that are normally dwellings at depths more than 3,000 ft below the surface. It's one of more than 300 living species of anglerfish from around the world," the agency wrote. While the fish itself is not rare, the Facebook post added, it is rare to come across a deep sea specimen intact on a beach.