14-foot oarfish washes up on Catalina Island, the second appearance of the rare fish since June. Credit: Annie MacAulay/Mountain and Sea Adventures
Covering more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, the ocean is home to some strange, beautiful and terrifying creatures. The oarfish falls into the latter category. With over 400 dorsal fins and the ability to reach nearly 60 feet in length, the oarfish is more like something out of a twisted version of a Dr. Seuss book than a naturally occurring animal. So anytime one of these freaks of the sea turns up, which is rare, you can imagine the stir they cause. Like just this week when a 14-footer washed up on the shores of Catalina Island, the second one to appear there since June.
Annie MacAulay, the president and CEO of Mountain and Sea Adventures – an environmental summer camp for kids on Catalina – discovered the dead creature. And because oarfish typically live extremely deep below the surface, sightings of them are rare. But MacAulay has now seen two within a period of months. “You’re lucky to see one oarfish in your lifetime, so to see two within three months … it’s pretty amazing,” MacAulay told the Daily Breeze. “I’ve been working on this island for 17 years and I had never seen any until June.”
And if the bizarre monster fish couldn’t be any weirder, get this: it had self-amputated it’s own tail. Yeah, oarfish are known to slice off portions of their own tails to shed weight and boost metabolism. Check out this bugger in the video below – it reminds us of a mythical creature, like a dragon mixed with the loch ness monster.
