A view of a Lancetfish.

Gulf Today Report

A wild creepy looking fish was discovered on a beach in California prompting social media users call it "Dracula fish," due to its frightening shape and gaping fanged jaws.

The fish, which was said to have washed up on a California beach, has teeth in the front of its mouth, a large fin in the back, and a long, shiny body.

Local media quoted marine life expert Christian Anthony as saying that the fish was moved to the water before its death, noting that he published a picture of it in the hope of identifying its type.

A Lancetfish on a beach in California. Photo: The West Marin Feed

Christopher Martin, curator of the fish department at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, identified the fish, which he said was a "Lancetfish", a predator known as a "cannibal", which can grow up to seven feet in length at times.

According to Martin, this type of fish lives in oceans all over the world, except for the polar seas, at depths ranging from 350 to 6500 feet.

These fish hunt their prey in areas that receive only a small amount of sunlight, and they are distinguished by the fact that they store what they eat in their stomach without digestion for a period of time.

Their dinosaur-worthy scientific name, Alepisaurus, means "scaleless lizard." Lancetfish are naked on scales with skin covered in pores.