A Deep-Sea Fish of Nightmares Strays into Shallow Waters

A scary-looking creature with 'devil' in its name was spotted close to a Spanish island

- VICTOR MATHER

EVEN THE LIGHT OF the sun cannot penetrate the inky blackness below. The pressure of the water above is crushing. And yet life somehow survives, adapted to that strange world. Many of the fish there are partly luminescent to attract prey. They are omnivores, making up for the lack of food at those depths by having big mouths, sharp teeth and a desire to eat almost anything.

It's a world alien to our own, with creatures seldom seen by human eyes.

But now, at least one fearsome fish from the depths has made a surprise appearance a lot closer to the surface, where it was spotted and filmed late last month. A black seadevil angler-fish was sighted near the surface, about 2,000 meters off the coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain, by scientists with Condrik Tenerife, a group that normally researches sharks.