Mystery Eyeball Washes Up On Florida Beach

By Roxanne Palmer | October 12 2012 1:44 PM

It sounds like the setup for a horror story: A mysterious, softball-size blue eye washes up on the beach. But it actually happened in Florida this past week, when the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission got a call from a person about a mysterious object on Pompano Beach.

Flickr via Creative Commons/MyFWCmedia

Florida wildlife officials now think this eye came from a swordfish.

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The eye was put on ice and sent out for testing at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.

If scientists can’t immediately figure out what kind of animal the giant blue peeper belongs to, they may use genetic testing.

Though at first glance you might think the eye belongs to a giant squid -- which is known for having giant eyes, sometimes as large as basketballs -- FWC spokesman Carli Segelson says the eye most likely belongs to a large fish of some kind.

“That seems like the culprit at this time, but we don’t have a positive ID as of yet,” Segelson said in a phone interview.

The agency expects to have results later on Friday, but in the meantime, which of these likely suspects do you think the mystery eye belongs to? A giant squid? A tuna? Atlantic marlin?