A mysterious black blob of a fish—featuring terrifyingly pointy spines, rows of long needle-sharp teeth, and strange alien-like appendage growing out of its head—gave lifeguards a start after washing up in Encinitas, California, in early December. The exceedingly rare specimen, called a Pacific footballfish, one of the largest species of anglerfish, was found by a surfer at Swami’s Beach, who handed it to lifeguards, who in turn passed it to oceanographic scientists for further study. Ichthyologist Ben Frable from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego was only too pleased to receive the unique deep-sea swimmer intact. Looking like something from the movie “Aliens,” these creatures dwell at depths of 650 to 2,600 feet below the sea where no sunlight penetrates—hence the strange “fishing pole” (illicium) growing out of their head from which dangles a glowing phosphorescent bulb (or ecsa) that attracts prey amidst the pitch dark. They possess a globular-shaped …