Oarfish found off San Diego coast, and scientists want to know why

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A not often seen deep sea fish resembling a serpent was discovered floating lifeless on the ocean floor off the San Diego coast and was introduced ashore for examine, marine consultants mentioned.

The silvery, 12-foot-long (3.6-meter) oarfish was discovered final weekend by a bunch of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, the Scripps Establishment of Oceanography mentioned in a press release.

It’s solely the twentieth time an oarfish is thought to have washed up in California since 1901, in line with establishment fish knowledgeable Ben Frable.

Scripps famous that oarfish have a legendary fame as predictors of pure disasters or earthquakes, though no correlation has been confirmed.

Oarfish can develop longer than 20 ft (6 meters) and usually stay in a deep a part of the ocean known as the mesopelagic zone, the place gentle can’t attain, in line with the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Swimmers introduced the La Jolla Cove oarfish to shore atop a paddleboard. It was then transferred to the mattress of a pickup truck.

Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Middle and Scripps deliberate a necropsy on Friday to attempt to decide the reason for demise.