Imagine going for a quiet walk on
an empty beach and then tripping over a massive, disembodied
eyeball lying in the sand. Freaky, yes?
Well, that was pretty much what
happened when a resident of South Florida, USA was enjoying a
stroll and found a large, blue and black eyeball which
needed two hands to carry it!
At first, scientists thought the
eye might belong to a giant squid. These monsters can grow over 4
metres in length and, according to biologist Heather
Bracken-Grissom, giant squid's eyes can be as large as soccer balls
and pop out pretty easily... Gross!
However, scientists now think the
eyeball belonged to a swordfish, as that is the best match for
structure, colour and size. There was also some bone around
it, and giant squids beaks are made of chitin, not bone. There were cut marks
around the eye and it seems likely that a fisherman took out the
eye and dropped it then threw it back into the ocean.
Researchers will now do some
genetic tests to make sure that it does belong to a
swordfish. After all, it could have come from some kind of
gigantic, undiscovered sea creature that hides out at the bottom of
the ocean.
Why not let your imagination run
wild and draw your own giant-eyed sea monster? You could post it on
our Facebook page for everyone to enjoy...
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