A rare 12-foot-long oarfish, or ‘doomsday fish,’ is found in San Diego – Los Angeles Times
A group of friends exploring the waters off La Jolla Cove on Saturday came across a sea creature unlike anything they d ever seen: a 12-foot-long rare fish from the depths of the ocean.
The giant oarfish, the largest bony fish in the world, was spotted floating dead just off San Diego, only the 20th such fish to wash up along the California coast since the early 1900s, according to Ben Frable, manager of the Marine Vertebrate Collection at UC San Diego s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
They are not common here in California, Frable said, adding that the long, ribbon-like fish are periodically found on beaches around the world, more frequently in the tropics. These fish are generally living in the deep-sea, open-ocean environment.
The science-minded group of kayakers and snorkelers immediately notified officials about their find, helping bring the lifeless oarfish onshore for future research.
via www.latimes.com
We approve of the oarfish, but they need a more sinister name.