'Very rare' deep-sea 'beast' washes up on California beach

A rare species of fish has washed up on a beach in California this week.

On Monday, May 10, the official Instagram and Facebook accounts of Crystal Cove state park uploaded a picture of a 19-inch angler fish, also known as a Pacific football fish, which had landed on the park's shore the previous Friday.

The fish in question is believed to be female. This is because only female angler fish possess long stalks on their head with bioluminescent tips, which they use to lure in their prey - sometimes at a depth of up to 3,000 feet.

In the post's caption, a spokesperson for the state park detailed some more interesting trivia, including the fact that the fish has transparent teeth, and that males reproduce by latch onto females and becoming "sexual parasites."

The post read: "To see an actual angler fish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up on the shore."

The caption went on: "Seeing this strange and fascinating fish is a testament to the diversity of marine life lurking below the water’s surface in California’s MPAs.

"As scientists continue to learn more about these deep-sea creatures it’s important to reflect on how much is still to be learned from our wonderful ocean."

An angler fish famously appears in one scene in the Pixar animated movie Finding Nemo, in which it attempts to use its famous glowing antennae to devour the main characters of Dorie and Marlin - played by Albert Brooks and Ellen Degeneres respectively.

A number of other Instagram users have since taken to the comments to react to the sighting of this amazing underwater creature.