The giant eyeball that washed ashore in Pompano Beach this week has people talking. So what is it? It could have come from a giant squid or a swordfish, said Assistant Professor Heather Bracken-Grisson, a marine biologist at Florida International University. The eye has been to St. Petersburg for testing.
A man walking along the sand in Pompano Beach found a giant eyeball, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The eyeball was found Wednesday and the man contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Institute in St. Petersburg, FWC spokeswoman Carli Segelson said.
Wildlife officials put the eyeball on ice to preserve it and then identify what animal it belongs to.
Segelson says the eyeball likely came from a marine animal, since it was found on a beach. Possible candidates include a giant squid, a whale or some type of large fish.
An assistant biology professor at Florida International University in Miami on Friday said the blue eyeball may have come from a deep sea squid or a large swordfish. Heather Bracken-Grissom says she started discussing the eyeball with her colleagues as soon as they saw the pictures on the Internet.
Bracken-Grissom says the lens and pupil are similar to the shape of a deep sea squid's eye. She notes that the squid's eyes can be as large as soccer balls and they easily dislodge.
