A giant eyeball mystery that started when a large eye washed up on a South Florida beach may be solved, experts say.
Since showing up on the beach, the giant eyeball has been studied by marine biologists who believe it belonged to a giant squid, The Associated Press reported.
Heather Bracken-Grissom, an assistant professor in the marine science program at Florida International University in Miami, said the giant eyeball mystery likely boils down to an accident suffered by a deep sea squid or possibly a large sword fish.
The giant eyeball mystery started when a man walking along Pompano Beach just north of Fort Lauderdale located the detached eye and called state wildlife officials. They took to softball-sized eyeball to researchers, who have been busy studying the specimen to get to the bottom of the giant eyeball mystery .
Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told The Huffington Post that it was unusual to find such a large eye without any other trace of the animal it came from.
Bracken-Grissom took notice as soon as she saw pictures of the eyeball on the internet.
“Any time something weird and crazy washes up on the beach, it’s definitely interesting,” she said.
The lens and pupil of the giant eyeball are consistent with a deep sea squid, she noted, adding that its eye can grow as large as a soccer ball an can easily become dislodged.
There is still more testing needed before the giant eyeball mystery can be definitively solved, she added.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see what the genetic analysis shows,” Bracken-Grissom said.