TENERIFE, Feb 9 — A fish that is normally never seen near the surface of the sea in daylight has gone viral on social media.

Marine biologists from the NGO Condrik Tenerife spotted the black devil anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) two kilometres off the coast of Tenerife.

Why is it a big deal?

The fish typically lives deep under water, at depths of between 200 and 2,000 metres.

According to Canarian Weekly, marine biologist Laia Valor had spotted the elusive specimen on January 26, near Playa San Juan, while researching another kind of sea creature — pelagic sharks.

Valor told the EFE news agency that the sea expedition team had spent a couple of hours with the fish before it had passed on, as it was apparently in poor condition.

Previously only dead adults or larvae of the fish had been found near the surface.

Valor said that the sighting was "extremely rare and isolated” and there was no way of knowing how the fish had happened to be spotted well out of its usual territory in the deep sea.

The fish’s remains have been transported to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife where they will be studied.

While the fish’s visage is slightly terrifying, with sea monster vibes, videos of the fish have been widely shared online, likely due to the unusual angle of the fish’s swimming where it has been swimming upwards, vertically.

An artist on X, @sanstire paid tribute to the dying anglerfish online with an image with the caption: "she never knew..."

Another drawing by artist Harris more known by his alias Beetle Moses of a dying angler fish has also been shared online in response to the fish’s appearance.