Elusive deep sea creature with skin like an ‘invisibility cloak’ seen lurking off CA
A deep sea creature that looks like something out of a dream — or maybe more like a nightmare — was spotted lurking off California’s coast, researchers say.
Which is fitting when you consider its name: dreamer anglerfish.
Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute “happened upon” the rarely seen fish during a recent deep-sea expedition, according to a Nov. 7 news release.
Researchers at the institute, known as MBARI, have encountered the dreamer anglerfish only nine times in 36 years of deep-sea exploration, officials said. The last time the team spotted one was in 2016.
They’re the “blackest of black fishes known in the ocean,” mostly because their ultra-black skin acts like an “invisibility cloak,” absorbing any light that touches it, including the light from its luminescent lure — which helps them hunt unsuspecting prey, officials said.
“Dreamers are stealthy ambush predators who lie secretly in wait for their prey. Instead of actively hunting for food, they let it come to them, which is one reason we see them so rarely,” senior scientist Bruce Robinson said in the release. “Coming upon a lurking anglerfish is an exciting experience for anyone exploring the deep water column.”
The fish’s inky black color also helps them blend in with the midnight deep ocean “where even a single photon can give you away to your ever-hungry predators and would-be prey,” officials said. In fact, the fish was “fishing” for food with its lamp-like lure extended when the team spotted it, but when the remotely operated vehicle got closer, it stowed the lure away.
Wondering why they’re called dreamer anglerfish?
“When specimens were first collected by scientists in the late (19th) century, the fish seemed too fantastical to be real and resembled something out of a dream,” officials said. “The unusual appearance of Oneirodes — ultra-black skin, a luminous lure, and sharp teeth — ensures survival in one of the most challenging environments on Earth.”
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