The giant creepy eyeball that washed ashore in southeastern Florida last week may belong to a swordfish, state wildlife officials said.
Joan Herrera of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in St. Petersburg said analysts made the call based on the eye’s color, size, shape and the remnants of bone on its edges, Miami’s WPLG television reported.
“Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded,” Herrera said.
The eerie, softball-sized peeper was found by a man in Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale, last Wednesday.
EARLIER: GIANT EYEBALL WASHES UP ON FLORIDA BEACH
Images of it quickly went viral, and experts mused that it likely came from a giant squid, whale or large fish.
The fall season is prime time for swordfishing in the waters of South Florida.
The wildlife agency was planning to conduct genetic tests to confirm that the eye was from a swordfish.
Though the mystery appeared solved, some observers said the circumstances surrounding its discovery were fishy.
“You usually don’t find random floating eyes of any animal,” Duke University biologist Sonke Johnsen told LiveScience.com.
