With 200 different species of the deep sea angler fish, the ‘seadevil’ is special. With a very striking appearance, from the razor sharp toothy underbite and lidless eyes to the spiky fins, the seadevil would definitely be a scary surprise while swimming in the ocean. The seadevil is a predator with a unique way of catching their prey – when the female seadevil spots their next meal they extend a rod like a fishing pole out of their head, at the end there is bioluminescent bacteria that lures in the prey. Setting aside these disturbing features, there is a poetic feature of the seadevil. The males live like a parasite on the females, preserving energy. The male species has evolved to only deliver sperm to the female fish.
Though the species name has “deep sea” in it, one was recently found at the surface level of the ocean on Tenerife island. This rare occurrence spiked one dwelling question, “why was the seadevil lurking so close to surface level?” There are a few speculations already. The fish could have an illness that caused it to travel up to the surface due to disorientation. Another speculation is that there was a disturbance in the deep sea habitat, possibly heat or unsettling ocean currents.
The deep sea angler fish is not the only species that has been washed up due to possible bad oceanic conditions. An oarfish, also known as the “doomsday fish”, was found washed up on the coast of the Canary Islands. The doomsday fish is rarely seen on the surface because of depressurization that would typically kill the fish at surface. The doomsday fish’s body is ribbon-like almost like an eel, scaleless, and it has silvery blue skin. They have no teeth, so when time comes to catch prey, they swim with their mouths open filtering small sea creatures. Their habitat is the deep sea, and their meat is not suitable for human consumption.
In Japanese folklore the sighting of an oarfish at the surface is a bad omen, or means that there is an impending doom. The cause of the fish being spotted at the surface is unknown. Some suspect the currents of El Nino and La Nina but others suspect that something bad is going to happen soon, whether it be with the government, environment, or something else.
