‘Doomsday fish’ washed ashore in California, but what does that mean?
LA TimesOn Nov. 6, a 10-foot-long oarfish was found at Grandview Beach in Encinitas by Scripps Institution of Oceanography doctoral candidate Alison Laferriere. It’s rare to see an oarfish up close in California; only 22 have washed ashore since 1901, according to UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. If an oarfish happens to swim up to the ocean’s surface, a sailor would see a long slithering creature with spiky protrusions on its head and could believe it was a sea monster, Paig-Tran said. An oarfish’s body is extremely delicate, so much so that if you pick one up it could break in half because of its jelly-like bones, Paig-Tran said. The deaths of the three fish that have surfaced “may have to do with changes in ocean conditions and increased numbers of oarfish off our coast,” said Ben Frable, manager of Scripps’ marine vertebrate collection.
History of this topic
‘Doomsday fish:’ A rare oarfish returns to California shores for the second time this year
CNN
A 12-foot-long harbinger of doom washed ashore in San Diego
LA Times
Mysterious ‘monster’ fish washes up on beach
The IndependentDiscover Related
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