Researchers and TikTokers shocked by sighting of anglerfish

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A rare humpback anglerfish was spotted at the ocean’s surface off Tenerife, surprising researchers and sparking emotional reactions on TikTok.

Recently, researchers off the coast of Tenerife, an island in Spain, were astonished when they found a humpback anglerfish or ‘Melanocetus johnsonii’ (black sea monster) at the surface of the ocean in broad daylight. 

Researchers have not seen this fish since 2014 due to it living in habitats 200 to 2,000 meters deep in the ocean. Even in 2014, the fish was only seen through the operated vehicle, Doc Ricketts, which found the fish at 1,900 feet.  The lure is the fish’s most prominent feature, and it was made famous by the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo (2003). National Geographic states that “This modified fin glows at the tip, and the sea devil uses it to attract prey.” 

Both researchers and other individuals who have seen photos of the anglerfish are curious as to why the fish traveled so close to the surface. While the exact cause is still unknown, there are a few theories. For one, Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, theorizes that it could be possible “that the anglerfish ate a fish with a swim bladder or gas gland, and as that gas kept expanding, it drew the predator upward in the water column.” 

Another theory, Robison speculates, is that the area where the anglerfish was found is prone to a lot of volcanic activity, “it's also possible that the fish became trapped in a column of rising warm water created by undersea fissures.” Lastly, it could be possible that a large predator, such as a whale, seal, sea lion, or jellyfish, could have swallowed the fish, and “the predator either spat it out or the anglerfish broke free closer to the surface.”

Unfortunately, shortly after the footage was shot, the anglerfish passed, yet researchers are grateful for the moment they saw it alive. They took its body to be placed in the Museum of Nature and Archaeology of Tenerife. Robinson further explained that this fish species had been documented as being encountered since the nineteenth century but exclaimed that all other specimens found were dead. This makes this sighting of the anglerfish a unique one. 

Not only were researchers struck by this sighting of the anglerfish, but once the footage of its appearance was released, individuals on the social media app TikTok were theorizing and crying over it. Many people on TikTok were moved to tears by how small the fish was and the distance it traveled to get to the surface of the ocean. One TikTok content creator stated, “What do you think she was thinking? Was she proud of herself?” Numerous posts such as those were going viral, with other creators agreeing and continuing to make posts and comment on other posts about the anglerfish and the journey it swam. One comment read, “She doesn’t even know she’s an icon.”

While the sighting of the anglerfish was a unique surprise for biologists and researchers across the globe, it appears it was also a shock for those online who became moved by this fish’s journey to the surface.