Rarely Seen Moonfish, Size of Manhole Cover, Caught on Camera
The opah, or moonfish, is a camera-shy animal that researchers know little about.
Its squat body and flimsy-looking pectoral fins may not scream speed-demon.
But the opah, or moonfish, is actually quite fast, and can run with the big boys like tuna and swordfish. That's just one of many surprising revelations coming to light as more of these mysterious fish appear unexpectedly in scientific surveys along the southern California coast. (See pictures of other deep-sea animals.)
This unexplained surge is enabling researchers to study and photograph the camera-shy creatures.
While documenting a fishing survey, photographer Ralph Pace caught the roughly 130-pound (59-kilogram) fish on camera off the southern California coast in November 2014.
Researchers had accidentally caught the odd animal, and after it was released, Pace dove into the water to take
