Rare Predatory Fish Washed Up On California Beach Identified As Cannibalistic Lancetfish

A bizarre-looking toothy fish washed up on San Francisco Bay beach area in California was found to be Lancetfish, a highly cannibalistic aquatic creature.

The predatory fish was first discovered by a walker on April 5 in Point Reyes National Seashore, about 60 miles north of San Francisco. A picture of the fish was posted on the West Marin Feed which left people wondering if it was a rare find, SF Gate reported.

Luiz Rocha, an ichthyologist and curator at the California Academy of Sciences, told the outlet that the appearance of the fish was unusual since this particular kind is predominantly found in deeper waters. "They are found all over the world's oceans, but mostly inhabit deeper waters, so it's unusual to find one on the beach like this," Rocha told SF Gate.

Christopher Martin, curator of ichthyology at UC Berkeley, told the outlet that even as there are several instances of the fish washing up on beaches around the world from time to time, it's truly difficult to comprehend when and where the sightings will happen.

Christian Anthony, who runs the West Marin Feed, said the man who spotted the fish found it to be barely alive. The man, after clicking the picture, helped the fish get into the water and it disappeared into the surf, Martin told SF Gate.

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Lancetfish, which has a gaping fanged jaw, enormous eyes, a sailfin, and a long, slithery body, are "notorious cannibals" and "feed voraciously" on their own kind as well as other fish, shrimp, squid, and octopus. Scientists speculate that the Lancetfish devour a far larger quantity of food than their normal appetite and their stomach digest them whenever they need it. NOAA explained that food is, therefore, found almost in the pristine state inside their stomachs.

NOAA further added that these particular fish are hermaphrodites and thus have both male and female reproductive organs. Lancet fish's scientific name is Alepisaurus, which means "scaleless lizard." This fish has no scales and has skin covered in pores, NOAA said.

Lancetfish can grow up to 7 feet in length but the one that was spotted recently was the kind that grows up to 3-4 feet long. "This one doesn't look like an adult, so it might have gotten lost and washed up in waters that are too shallow," Rocha told SF Gate.