The Black Seadevil Anglerfish Memes And Hyped Explained

If you haven’t seen the story of the tiny black seadevil anglerfish who swam to the surface to see light before dying yet then congratulations because you are not terminally online like the rest of us. But you’re here and my hope is you’ll leave this article knowing all about the female black seadevil anglerfish whose story has led to tribute songs and countless people crying on TikTok.

It all started about a week ago when a marine photographer named David Jara Boguña was diving with a crew off Tenerife, the tiny island off the coast of Western Africa near Morocco and Western Sahara. They were diving when up from the depths came a beautiful specimen, a tiny black seadevil anglerfish swimming toward the surface.

Anglerfish are well known in pop culture thanks to movies like Finding Nemo where there was a scene when an anglerfish was chasing Dory and Marlin. They are the fish which produce their own light by little organ called the esca which turns deep sea bacteria into bioluminescent light in order to draw in prey in the depths.

All things considered, these are (were!!!) considered sea monsters because of their gnarly teeth but in reality they are about the size of a meatball. And people’s opinions on anglerfish have changed DRASTICALLY over the last week after this fish was captured on video and its story went viral on TikTok.

What’s The Deal With This Black Seadevil Anglerfish?

I mentioned that it swam up while David Jara Boguña was filming… Until this moment, the only light this anglerfish had seen in her entire life was the light she produces 15,000 feet below the surface. This beautiful fish had been living in total darkness aside from its bioluminescent esca.

People, LOTS AND LOTS of people, believe this fish saw a sliver of light and swam toward it in hopes of seeing a creature greater than itself. And along the way the light grew brighter and brighter before it arrived at the surface where her life ended but not before seeing a world unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Keep in mind that below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) the ocean is complete and total darkness. The black seadevil anglerfish can live up to 15,000 feet deep but typically lives at 6,500 feet deep. That’s complete darkness until this moment:

Memes, Tributes, And More Pour In For The Black Seadevil

I’d like to send a quick shout out to everyone that has read this far! I hope I was able to explain the lore behind this fish and now… the memes, the tributes, the countless people on TikTok crying over a fish that swam to the surface.

Keep in mind that these fish max out at about 6 inches long. Now imagine what the distance of up to 15,000 feet is for a 6-inch fish. There’s truly no telling how long this fish was swimming up before it saw the light and was moved to keep going… That’s a sentiment that moved at least one woman to write a tribute song about the beautiful jet black anglerfish:

Sooooo many others are already considering getting anglerfish tattoos in tribute to this female that perished on the surface in Tenerife:

I won’t post more than one video of people crying over this fish. But trust me when I say there are a LOT of tears being shed on TikTok right now over the Black Seadevil off Tenerife.

I should add that this was the first time ever in Tenerife a live species of Black Seadevil anglerfish was spotted on the surface. As noted in the first Instagram post above, “records have mostly consisted of larvae, dead adults, or specimens spotted by submarines during deep-sea scientific expeditions.”

Now, for those of us who are terminally online I can’t help but compare this to ‘Fartbuckle the Goblin‘ who went viral last Summer, also on TikTok. Their fame shared a similar arc:

I hope the terminally online emo guys out there who got Fartbuckle tattoos find the women who are thinking about getting anglerfish tattoos. They all deserve each other.