Rare ‘Doomsday’ Fish Surfaces in California–Just the 20th Discovered in the State Since 1901

nnA group of what only can be described as ‘brave’ kayakers and snorkelers saw a giant shape floating in the water ahead of them, and paddled towards it to record the sighting of an incredible species.nnOn a recreational paddle near La Jolla Cove, California, they had found an oarfish (Regalecus glesne)—an omen of destruction and chaos—a species of legend—and one that’s adapted to live in deeper depths in the open ocean.nnOnly 20 oarfish have washed up in California since 1901, according to a Facebook post from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and fortunately, this particular carcass was found by a group of people who work in marine sciences.nnSmithsonian Institute reports that the five seagoers contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service and California Sea Grant (a collaboration between the federal government, the state of California, and California’s universities) and then enlisted the help of some passing paddleboarders as well as the lifeguards on duty to bring this 12-foot monster of the deeps to the kayak landing.nnIF YOU LOVE THE DEEP OCEAN: Thar’ Be a Kraken! First Video Footage of a Possible Colossal Squid in its Own Habitat CapturednnLet’s talk about this species: which may be the most interesting fish in the sea. It holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest bony fish after a specimen was seen swimming off Asbury Park, New Jersey, by a team of scientists from the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory in 1963 estimated to measure 50 feet (15.2 meters) in length.nnThe longest photographed oarfish was 27 feet long, more than twice the size of this most recent one found in La Jolla Cove.nn

nnThe incredible length of this animal, its tendency to spend most of its time between 700 to 3,000 feet down under, and the fact that it also occasionally comes to the surface, have led many to pinpoint it as the origin of all sea serpent mythology, as they live in all oceans apart from the poles.nnAbove, readers will have seen it referred to as the Doomsday Fish, a moniker that arises from Japanese mythology where its nickname is “ryugu no tsukai” which translates to “Messenger from the Sea God’s Palace”.nnSea God Ryūjin, according to a report from USA Today published last year in the wake of incredible diver footage of an oarfish off the coast of Taiwan, sends the oarfish to the surface to warn of impending earthquakes. There were sightings of the fish ahead of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake which caused the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.nn[raw]

🌊 Last weekend, some lucky kayakers and snorkelers came across a rare deep-sea dwelling fish in La Jolla Cove. The seagoers spotted a 12-foot #oarfish and to give you an idea of how rare this encounter is, only 20 oarfish have washed up in California since 1901! pic.twitter.com/fDL3AWPOFq

— Scripps Institution of Oceanography (@Scripps_Ocean) August 14, 2024

[/raw]nnThe La Jolla oarfish surfaced two days before a 4.4-magnitude earthquake rattled Los Angeles.nnScientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps Oceanography will perform a necropsy to see if they can determine a cause of death.nnMORE INCREDIBLE OCEAN WONDERS: Giant 7-foot Sunfish Found on Oregon Beach Turns Out to Be Rarest Member of the SpeciesnnAfter the necropsy, the specimen will find a home in the Scripps Marine Vertebrate Collection—one of the largest collections of deep-sea fish in the world—where scientists will be able to further study this mysterious species.nnYou’ve Got To SHARE This Incredible Animal With Your Friends Who Love The Sea…