Softball-sized eye found in Pompano Beach, but scientists have yet to pin down the sea creature whence the eyeball came

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

A giant eyeball discovered washed up on the shores of Florida has created an internet buzz and left marine biologists pondering its likely owner.

The blue, softball-sized body part was stumbled upon Wednesday by beachcomber Gino Covacci as he walked through the surf at Pompano Beach. Having kicked the object over, he found himself staring into the large lens of an as-yet-to-be identified sea creature.

"It was very, very fresh," he told Florida newspaper the Sun Sentinel, adding: "It was still bleeding when I put it in the plastic bag."

Experts put the eyeball on ice, ahead of preservation in a formaldehyde. It has since been sent to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St Petersburg. Marine biologists are now attempting to discover the derivation of the dislodged eyeball.

On Friday, an assistant biology professor at Florida International University in Miami said the eyeball could have come from a deep-sea squid or a large swordfish.

Heather Bracken-Grissom said she had started discussing the eyeball with her colleagues as soon as they saw the pictures on the internet. She added that the lens and pupil are similar to the shape of a deep-sea squid's eye.

Bracken-Grissom also noted that a squid's eyes can be as large as soccer balls, and that they can be easily dislodged.