In the animated film “Finding Nemo,” a stealthy anglerfish gaped silently at passing fish, its lightbulb-like antennae hovering in front of its head and its jagged jaws spread wide as it worked to lure unsuspecting prey into its mouth.

In modern day Newport Beach, a cousin to the deep-sea creature washed ashore last week, far from its normal clime.

A beachgoer taking a stroll along Crystal Cove State Park’s sandy shore on Friday discovered an 18-inch wide-mouthed Pacific footballfish, said Jessica Roame, the education coordinator at Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching.

“I don’t know if he understood the implications of what he found,” Roame said. “It happens when you’re walking along — you find dead things here and there that just shouldn’t be on the beach. The thing about this was that it was almost perfectly intact. Where did it come from that deep below?”

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