What's not to love about this fish?! Picture is of a rare intact angler fish identified as a Football fish that washed up last week in Crystal Cove State Park in Southern California. The coolest thing about anglers is their highly functional fishing lure, the esca, that houses bioluminescent bacteria that glow in the murky deep depths and attract prey. The fish has clear thin glassy teeth to grab prey, a black color to hide in the water column, small eyes it - well, they can't really see much in the darkness anyway, and bony plates with spines to hopefully dissuade another creature from making them a dinner. The females, which this is, get up to 24 inches long. The male, however, tops out at 1 1/2 inch, the size of a guppy. No sooner does it mature into an adult it's life takes a bizarre but necessary turn. It uses an enlarged nostril to find the female by following the pheromones she emits, latches onto her with its tiny teeth and merges with her body including her bloodstream, becoming a parasite whose only function is to fertilize her. All because it is darn hard for a couple of rare fish to find each other in the near-endless dark deeps. It's a wonder they find each other the first time. But, when they do, what a love story full of self sacrifice and intrigue!
Here is a photo of a similar dude.
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