The pioneers of social networking sites shared pictures that they said were of a wild fish, which they called “Dracula”, due to its frightening shape.
The fish, which was said to have washed up on a California beach, has teeth in the front of its mouth, a large fin in the back, and a long, shiny body.
And the British newspaper “Daily Star” quoted marine life expert Christian Anthony as saying that the fish was returned to the water before its death, noting that he published a picture of it in the hope of identifying its type.
Christopher Martin, curator of the fish department at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, identified the fish, which he said was a “Lancet”, a predatory known as a “cannibal”, which can grow up to seven feet in length at times.
According to Martin, this type of fish lives in oceans all over the world, except for the polar seas, at depths ranging from 350 to 6500 feet.
These fish hunt their prey in areas that receive only a small amount of sunlight, and they are distinguished by the fact that they store what they eat in their stomach without digestion for a period of time.