Anglerfish Surfaces Near Tenerife
What might be the first-ever near-surface live viewing, filmed near Spain's Canary Islands
On January 26th, a team of marine scientists working near the Canary Island of Tenerife were very surprised to spot a black seadevil anglerfish swimming near the ocean’s surface. The team had been researching shark activity in the area and spotted the fish emerging from the abyss a little over a mile from the Tenerife coast. Black seadevils are depth dwellers, typically living at 650 to 6,500 feet below sea level, with some living up to 15,000 below the ocean’s surface. These deep sea denizens are residents of the Bathypelagic Zone, an area of constant darkness where the only light comes from bioluminescence, such as emitted from the anglerfish’s head-mounted lure that it uses to attract prey. As such, this is the first documented sighting of a living black seadevil illuminated by the sunlight of shallow depths. David Jara Bogunya, a researcher with NGO Condrik Tenerife, quickly captured the event on film, and shared his discovery to Instagram, calling the sighting a “dream come true.” News spread quickly in the marine scientific community, some even initially believing the images were computer-generated, so unknown is this occurrence.
The researchers do not know precisely why this black seadevil might have surfaced, but speculate that it could have been caught in an updraft of rising warm water created by an undersea fissure of volcanic activity. Alternately the fish might have been ill or it might have been attempting to escape a predator when it was swept up. Another theory speculates that the anglerfish preyed on a fish that had a swim bladder or gas gland and the expanding air drew the predator upward. Or the anglerfish itself might have been prey, spit out by a pilot whale, sea lion, seal or jellyfish as it swam closer to the surface. They do know, however, that this particular fish was a female, as they are the only anglerfish that develop the bioluminescent lure and they grow much larger than their male counterparts, reaching a length of six to seven inches. With their long fangs and unusual fishing style, one can understand their scientific appellation, Melanocetus johnsonii, which translates from Latin to “black sea monster.” An anglerfish typically doesn’t swim far, preferring to let fish come to it, so seeing it locomating under its own power was also unusual. After about an hour of monitoring, the fish—built for deep-sea pressures and not accustomed to surface swimming—perished. Still, the scientists consider the experience an important moment for observation and study. They collected the fish’s body and have donated it to the Museum of Nature and Archaelogy in Tenerife.
Like Icarus (in this case, would that be Iththyarus?), this fish swam too close to the sun. Her time in the light was brief but spectacular and she will certainly be long remembered.
Source for your gif comes from the BBC link below.
A friend who snorkeled told me, "You don't have to travel to outer space to find a strange new world. Life in the ocean is another planet."
https://youtu.be/0Qguo6Y0IQ0?si=Epbl8OkUaYdoxuEo