A Spanish shark research organisation says it may have captured the first footage of a rare deep-sea creature swimming in the light of day.
David Jara Boguñá, a photographer on an expedition with shark and stingray research and conversation organisation Condrik Tenerife spotted a humpback anglerfish off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands last week.
The anglerfish, also known as a black sea devil, is typically found in the deep sea, up to 1,500 metres below the water’s surface, where the sun doesn’t reach.
“This could be the first recorded sighting in the world of an adult black devil alive, in broad daylight and on the surface,” the group said in an Instagram post.
The fish was discovered when the team were researching pelagic sharks.
It is referred to as the black devil due to its dark colours, sinister looking sharp teeth and monstrous shape.
Condrik researchers said they spent an hour or so with the fish before it died and was taken to the nearby Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Tenerife.
Magazine Oceanographic said researchers had not determined why this fish showed up near the surface.
Some scientists have speculated that members of the species could rise up to shallower depths during El Niño weather patterns, which can reduce the amount of cold water upwelling off the coast of North America.
The team from Condrik wrote that it may have been unwell or fleeing from a predator.
