Doran angler

  

I almost saved this one for Halloween, but it's a very cool sighting, so I'm excited to share it tonight!  Scott found this fish washed ashore at Doran Beach today (21 October 2021).  Anglerfish live in deep water, so it's rare to see them on the beach.

I'm not an expert in identifying anglerfish, but this appears to be a Pacific Footballfish (Himantolophus sagamius).  

From the side you can see how rounded the body is, how large the mouth is, and how intense the teeth are!   

But the coolest feature is more visible from the front — check out the lure!  Out of water the lure is hanging down in front of the mouth, but look for the long modified spine that ends in a rounded bulb.  In the water, the spine is held upright in the water and the bulb is bioluminescent, attracting prey towards the mouth of the fish in the dark depths of the ocean.

 

 

There's a little more information about Pacific Footballfish on the Cal Academy website.  There's also a very nice photo with the lure in an upright position at the Natural History Museum of LA County.

Many thanks to Scott for sharing this record and the great photos!