Experts believe this 18-foot eel-like look creature is an oarfish (family Regalecidae), which can grow up to 56 feet long and is rarely seen by humans as it prefers to remain around 3,000 feet below surface. Report by Sophie Foster.
An 18-foot eel-like fish was discovered by a snorkeler off the Californian coastline near Catalina Island. The carcass of the creature, thought to have inspired legends of giant sea serpents, was spotted near Catalina Island.
Jasmine Santana, a marine science instructor on a snorkel tour in the Pacific Ocean, was about 15-feet underwater when she found the 18-foot-long, silvery fish with reddish fins on the bottom of the sea. She saw is had eyes the size of half-dollars staring at her from the sandy bottom. Santana realized the creature was dead, grabbed it by the tail, and brought it back to shore — not as easy as it sounds because the 400-pound carcass eventually needed help from 14 more people to lift the fish out of the water on the to the shoreline at Toyon Bay, California.
A 23-foot oarfish was found washed up on shore near San Diego in September 1996. Giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne), is the longest known bony fish alive, and is believed to be at least one source of Sea Serpent legends.
The creature will likely be on display at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI).
See also …
Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) — www.cimi.org
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