In what may be the first-ever sighting of its kind, a female abyssal humpback anglerfish was spotted swimming to the surface off Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Typically found 200 to 2,000 meters below the surface, these fish live in total darkness and have a bioluminescent lure used to catch prey.

David Jara Boguña, the underwater photographer who captured the stunning footage, was on a research expedition to look for sharks with the conservation organization Condrik Tenerife at the time of the sighting.

“It was swimming in a bizarre way, but it was alive,” he recalls. “We all wanted to get in the water, but we didn’t have any wetsuits. I went in my underwear. It was cold, but we stayed with it for one or two hours.”

“We knew this fish was unique and maybe we were the first ones to see it alive on the surface.”

While its face may appear to be one only a mother could love, the fish has become an instant icon online. Many adoring fans have praised her bravery and tenacity during the assumed arduous two-day journey to the surface.

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“A lot of people have romanticized this story, but this animal was not there because she wanted to be there,” Boguña says. The anglerfish did not survive, but her body was transported to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Tenerife in a cup filled with seawater. Scientists aren’t sure why she came up from her comfortable depths, but speculate it could be due to illness, disorientation or an upwelling current.