When a handsome, gigantic oarfish washed up in La Jolla Cove this August, it seemed as if a mythological sea serpent had drifted to shore. Since 1901, this is only the 20th report of an oarfish having washed up on the California coast.
This charming fish was discovered by kayakers and snorkelers, who decided to lay the deceased, deep-sea fish out on a surfboard and bring it to land. How lucky these snorkelers were. To be graced by the presence of a gigantic, unfamiliar deep sea critter while swimming is simply a dream of mine yet to come true.
Oarfish can reach up to 30 feet in length, and are known as "the doomsday fish" by some, due to lore that says these creatures are an indication of an oncoming natural disaster. A scientist in the video explains that this is because the fish often wash up on shore after a tsunami, which some people view through a mythological lens.
Typically, oarfish stay 600 to 3,000 feet below the surface (darn!). Researchers don't know much about oarfish since their deepwater habitat makes them difficult to study. What exactly brought the oarfish in the video to SoCal is still a mystery to be solved. That oarfish will be studied and kept at Scripps, where it will become part of one of the world's biggest collections of deep sea creatures.
See also: Fish falls from sky, smashes Tesla windshield (video)
