Mystery solved: Giant eyeball belonged to swordfish

ST. PETERSBURG — The mystery of the giant eyeball has been solved.

It belonged to a swordfish, wildlife officials here said Monday.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission experts based their findings on the eyeball's color, size and bone fragments found around it.

A man discovered the softball-sized eyeball Wednesday in Pompano Beach. Wildlife officials recovered the eye the same day.

Experts also confirmed it was removed by a fisherman. Swordfish are fished in the Florida Straits off South Florida this time of year, said wildlife commission spokesman Kevin Baxter.

Swordfish reside near the surface to as deep as 2,000 feet underwater. In the Atlantic, they can grow up to 1,100 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The eyeball will undergo genetic testing to confirm the findings before it is added to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's specimen collection, Baxter said.