A softball-sized, deep blue eyeball of unknown origin that was found washed up on Pompano Beach, Florida by a citizen on October 11 has been tentatively identified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as belonging to a swordfish, the FWC posted in a news release on Monday. As the FWC explained:
“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. “Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded.”
The FWC says it will need to do further genetic testing to confirm the results. Here’s a photo of the giant eyeball posted to the FWC’s page on Flickr.
(H/T: The Atlantic Wire)
