Strange Sea Creature Spotted Near San Diego

Over the weekend, some adventurous swimmers in San Diego stumbled upon something quite unusual – a 12-foot-long oarfish floating near the coast. Instead of ignoring it, these enthusiastic folk decided to paddleboard it back to shore. Talk about a unique beach day!

Oarfish are fascinating creatures, typically found deep in the ocean, and they’re known for their long, slender bodies that can reach up to 36 feet in size. They’re sometimes referred to as “doomsday fish” because of a quirky belief that they show up before major earthquakes.

This particular oarfish was discovered in the La Jolla Cove area, where sightings are extremely rare. In fact, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography notes that there have only been about 20 reported sighting of oarfish along California’s coastline since 1901!

Researchers and marine scientists jumped at the chance to study the creature. They teamed up with lifeguards to transport the fish to a NOAA facility, where a team is gearing up for a necropsy to determine what caused its untimely demise. After that, it will be added to the Scripps Marine Vertebrate Collection, a significant archive dedicated to deep-sea fish.

Despite their eerie nickname, oarfish aren’t officially linked to natural disasters. Although some people claim to have seen them before earthquakes in Japan and the Philippines, scientists are still trying to figure out if there’s any real correlation.