© SWNSThe Angler fish washed up on South Sands Beach in Devon.
Katrina Ashmore, 41, and Paul Ashurst, 43, spotted the fish as they paddled in the sea on their staycation.
The couple watched the angler fish bobbing about for ten minutes before it washed up onto South Sands beach.
They thought the deep-sea monster, which lives as much as 3,300 feet underwater, was a turtle or even an old rucksack.
Dad-of-one Paul flipped it over, cutting his hands on hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
The couple spotted the adapted dorsal fin which emits a luminescent light to catch other fish.
Paul and Katrina left the beast, which was dead, to be reclaimed by the tide and continued their weekend break with Paul's son Lucas Ashurst, 13, in Salcombe.
The family, from Doncaster, Yorkshire, said they felt lucky to have seen the amazing creature.
Katrina said: "It was the most amazing experience.
"I just kept watching it, wondering what it was.
"We didn't realise it was upside down, then we flipped it and saw all these teeth and the dangly thing like a fishing rod.
"It was so big - easily twice the size of a football.
"A woman told us what kind of fish it was, and then I saw one had washed up in California, and it's the exact same fish."
Electrical-engineer Paul said: "The teeth were like razor blades, I hardly touched it and I got these deep cuts all over my hands.
© SWNSA rare deep sea fish with a face full of hundreds of teeth has washed up on Devon's shores, a staggering 9,000 miles from its home in the Pacific Ocean. Katrina Ashmore, 41, and Paul Ashurst, 43, spotted the football fish as they paddled in the sea.
"Not many people can say they've been bitten by one of those: I feel very privileged."
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