TORONTO – After studying a mysterious eyeball that washed ashore a south Florida beach last week, researchers believe the giant specimen belongs to a swordfish.
Check out our gallery of the eyeball from last week here.
Though genetic testing will be done to confirm identification, researchers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) explained their hypothesis in a release sent out Monday morning.
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“Experts on site and remotely have viewed and analyzed the eye, and based on its color, size and structure, along with the presence of bone around it, we believe the eye came from a swordfish,” said Joan Herrera, curator of collections at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. “Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded.”
The softball-sized eyeball was found by a beachgoer on Pompano Beach on Oct. 10, and brought into the FWC for study.
The FWC said swordfish are common in the Florida Straits this time of year, and can be found from the surface to as deep as 610 metres. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said swordfish in the Atlantic can reach a maximum size of over 1,100 pounds (499 kilograms).
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