Anglerfish That Swam to the Surface and Died

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When you order your anglerfish from TEMU Vida Marina Tenerife

-Comes close to the surface, baffling scientists -Refuses to elaborate further -Dies

ruru @bakedubicilembu x1 I've spent two hours crying over this anglerfish on tiktok this morning Lani To finally be enveloped in light you didn't have to create for yourself 3d Reply 17.2K ***

A comic of an anglerfish going to the surface of the ocean to see the sun. The anglerfish died shortly after surfacing.

Jordan Cooley Follow 2d POETIC REST IN PEACE- According to National Geographic, they filmed an Anglerfish for the first time in broad daylight and near the surface. It was an abyssal anglerfish, it was the second time that one had been captured on camera and the first time that it was recorded near the surface, this situation had marine life specialists baffled, it happened near the coast of Tenerife, Spain. In the end the fish died and will be studied by experts But the thing about the fish rising to the surface full of light to die after living in the darkness of the depths is perhaps the most poetic image possible that could occur to nature. She saw the light SO BEAUTIFUL...

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About

The Anglerfish That Swam to the Surface and Died refers to a viral video of a black seadevil anglerfish swimming to the surface of the ocean, which spread online in early February 2025. The anglerfish reportedly died shortly after doing so. Purportedly, this is the first video of an anglerfish swimming to the surface, as this is a rare occurrence, with black seadevil anglerfish typically living in the deep sea. The reported death of the anglerfish became the subject of discourse, art and memes online, with many mourning the loss of the fish following its virality.

Origin

On February 5th, 2025, Instagram^[1] user condrik_tenerife posted footage of a black seadevil anglerfish swimming vertically up towards the surface of the sea off the coast of Tenerife, an island in Spain. The caption describes that the video was taken during a shark research campaign and credits the team who captured it via their Instagram handles, laiavlr, vidamarina.tenerife, sabu726 and jara.natura.

The description claims that black seadevil anglerfish are typically found between 200-2,000 meters in depth, considered the "midnight zone" of the ocean, claiming this is a rare occurrence and may be the first recording of such an incident. They write, "The reason for its presence in such shallow waters is uncertain. It may be due to illness, an upwelling current, fleeing a predator, etc." The video gained over 533,000 views in 10 days.

It was reposted by TikToker^[2] @jara.natura on February 6th, garnering over 119 million views in the same rough span of time.

Following the virality of the video, it was reported by the New York Times^[3] and other publications that the anglerfish died hours after it surfaced, with the team behind the video claiming it was injured. The injury may be why the anglerfish swam to the surface.

Spread

The anglerfish video garnered viral spread over the following days, inspiring fan art, discourse and memes, many of which mourn the death of the fish.

For example, on February 9th, 2025, TikToker^[4] @gopickupyourbook posted a video mashing up the anglerfish video with an unrelated, 2024 webcomic about an anglerfish who surfaces and dies by X^[5] user @beetlemoses, garnering over 500,000 views in a week.

On February 14th, Redditor u/AttilaTheMuun posted a piece of fan art based on the anglerfish to the subreddit /r/dankmemes,^[6] garnering over 3,700 upvotes in three days.

On the same day, TikToker^[7] @sydbecrafty posted artwork based on the anglerfish video, which was reposted by X^[8] user @kirstilynn11 that day, garnering over 19.2 million views on the former and 341,000 likes on the latter in the same span of time.

On February 15th, TikToker^[9] @savannahbellexoxo posted a video in which she films herself crying while explaining the anglerfish video to her boyfriend, garnering over 8.3 million views in two days.

On February 16th, 2025, TikToker^[10] @drew_j_garcia posted an animation depicting the anglerfish swimming to the surface in a Pixar animation style, garnering over 2.1 million views in a day.