On February 7th, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Condrik Tenerife posted a shocking image on social media: an abyssal fish (melanocetus johnsonii). The fish, also known as the “black seadevil”, was seen swimming close to the sea’s surface near Tenerife, Spain. The post caused astonishment because the species is found at ocean depths ranging from 200 to 2,000 meters.  

Marine biologists have yet to figure out why the fish made it so far up. Since it died shortly after being spotted, the most widely accepted hypothesis is that the animal was injured or sick. Other hypotheses seem to suggest that it was carried away by a current. 

This is one of the first images of the melanocetus johnsonii, which measures approximately three centimeters. The animal looks peculiar and features bioluminescence, which helps attract prey on the ocean floor. At great ocean depths, there is no sunlight, so everything is dark.

The fish was nicknamed “Icarus” on social media, a reference to the Greek myth of the boy who disobeyed his father and died when he flew too close to the sun. Comic strips illustrating and recreating the moment when the animal breached the surface also went viral, with phrases such as “It’s so beautiful, I could never have known”, something the melanocetus might have thought upon seeing the sunlight on the surface of the water.

After it died, the animal was quickly taken to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The researchers who found it intend to conduct more specific studies to find out what took the fish so far.

Sources:  Condrik Tenerife Instagram, Folha de S. Paulo, CNN, and UOL 

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