Nature & Environment
Mysterious Blue Eyeball May be from Squid or Swordfish
Sandra Smith
First Posted: Oct 14, 2012 02:45 PM EDT
A mysterious blue eyeball that washed ashore in Florida beach is likely from a squid or a swordfish, experts say.
Beachcomber Gino Covacci spotted the softball-sized blue eyeball Wednesday on Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. He stored the eyeball in his refrigerator before contacting local officials.
Staff from Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, collected the eyeball and put it on ice for examination. The institute also posted pictures of the big eyeball Thursday (Oct. 11) for possible identification. Soon the internet was abuzz with tales of marine monster living in deep sea waters, reported Guardian.
But wildlife officials examining the eyeball have said it probably belongs to a large swordfish. Experts said that it is not uncommon for deep sea marine creatures to wash ashore, but they are mostly intact.
"You usually don't find random floating eyes of any animal," biologist Sönke Johnsen of Duke University told LiveScience in an e-mail.
"I'm fairly sure it's just the eye of a large scombrid, likely a swordfish or marlin. They get seriously big, but people don't realize it because most of the eye is inside the head," he said.
While details of the tests are awaited, some experts have suggested that the eyeball could also belong to a squid. Giant squids can also have such big eyeballs to spot predators in dark deep sea waters.
Through genetic testing, experts are trying to find what species the eyeball could belong to. The findings are expected to be released by Monday.
It is still not clear how the eyeball washed ashore on the beach. Shark expert George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville told the Guardian that this is a clear case of human interaction. He said fishermen could have sliced up a dead fish and cut one of the eyes to keep it as a souvenir.
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First Posted: Oct 14, 2012 02:45 PM EDT
A mysterious blue eyeball that washed ashore in Florida beach is likely from a squid or a swordfish, experts say.
Beachcomber Gino Covacci spotted the softball-sized blue eyeball Wednesday on Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. He stored the eyeball in his refrigerator before contacting local officials.
Staff from Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, collected the eyeball and put it on ice for examination. The institute also posted pictures of the big eyeball Thursday (Oct. 11) for possible identification. Soon the internet was abuzz with tales of marine monster living in deep sea waters, reported Guardian.
But wildlife officials examining the eyeball have said it probably belongs to a large swordfish. Experts said that it is not uncommon for deep sea marine creatures to wash ashore, but they are mostly intact.
"You usually don't find random floating eyes of any animal," biologist Sönke Johnsen of Duke University told LiveScience in an e-mail.
"I'm fairly sure it's just the eye of a large scombrid, likely a swordfish or marlin. They get seriously big, but people don't realize it because most of the eye is inside the head," he said.
While details of the tests are awaited, some experts have suggested that the eyeball could also belong to a squid. Giant squids can also have such big eyeballs to spot predators in dark deep sea waters.
Through genetic testing, experts are trying to find what species the eyeball could belong to. The findings are expected to be released by Monday.
It is still not clear how the eyeball washed ashore on the beach. Shark expert George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville told the Guardian that this is a clear case of human interaction. He said fishermen could have sliced up a dead fish and cut one of the eyes to keep it as a souvenir.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone