Researchers off the coast of Tenerife couldn’t believe their eyes when they found a Humpback anglerfish at the ocean’s surface in broad daylight. Video footage was soon uploaded to social media, sending the world into a frenzy.
Extreme Conditions
Humpback anglerfish are seep-sea dwellers who have adapted to extreme conditions in the midnight zone, which is typically between 3,300 and 13,100 feet below the surface of the ocean. But recently, one was caught on camera swimming close to the ocean’s surface.
Marine Biologists
On January 26, 2025, marine biologists from NGO Condrik Tenerife spotted the creature just over a mile off the coast of Tenerife. They were conducting a shark research campaign onboard the Glaucus vessel when Laia Valor, a marine biologist, spotted something in the water.
Recording It
Marc Martín and Antonio Sabuco, who were biologists and educators onboard, along with David Jara, a marine wildlife photographer, instantly began recording the astonishing footage, which they later uploaded to the Condrik Tenerife Instagram page.
A Legendary Fish
“This could be the first recorded sighting in the world of an adult black devil alive, in broad daylight and on the surface,” Condrik Tenerife said in their Instagram post, calling it a “legendary fish that few people will have had the privilege of observing alive.”
A True Predator
“This is a true predator of the deep, living on the seabed between 200 and 2,000m deep and using its dorsal appendage full of bioluminescent symbiotic bacteria as bait to attract its prey, just like in the popular film Finding Nemo,” they said.
An Hour
The team was said to have spent about an hour in the water with the fish, swimming with it, and taking photos and videos. “It was like a dream come true,” said David Jara Bogunyà, one of the photographers.
Unable To Survive
But sadly, about an hour after they first started photographing and videoing the strange creature, it died. It was suggested that the fish was already injured and unable to survive. The extreme change in pressure probably also had something to do with it.
Theories
The researchers have no idea why the anglerfish had ventured into such shallow waters, but they have their theories. “It could be due to some kind of pathology, an upwelling current, to escape of a predator or other unknown factors,” researchers said.
The First Possibility
Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, told National Geographic, “It’s 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.”
Volcanic Activity
Since the sighting occurred just off the coast of the Canary Islands, it is also horrible that volcanic activity had something to do with it. It’s possible that the fish became trapped in a column of rising warm water that was created by undersea fissures.
Another Possibility
Bruce Robison says it is also possible that the anglerfish might have been swallowed or ensnared by a larger predator, like a pilot whale, seal, sea lion, or even a jellyfish before either being spat out or breaking free close to the surface.
We Might Never Know
There are many possible explanations for this strange discovery, but we might never know how this female anglerfish got to the top of the surface. This story has gone viral, with many fans calling her a folk hero.
