Images of the oarfish that recently appeared in the La Jolla area of San Diego show a large, strange-looking creature that appears only on the rarest of occasions.
A group of researchers was recently swimming in San Diego when they came across an oarfish, an “incredibly rare” creature whose appearance is an omen of impending disaster – specifically, earthquakes that are known to frequently strike the region.
The researchers spotted the dead sea serpent while snorkeling and kayaking in La Jolla Cove in San Diego, Lauren Fimbres Wood, a spokeswoman for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, told USA TODAY on Friday.
They contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a manager of Scripps’ marine vertebrate collection, and coordinated with beach lifeguards to transport the “large and heavy fish” to a nearby NOAA facility, Fimbres Wood said. And, of course, they took plenty of photos of the rare sight.
The deep-sea fish has only been spotted in the state 20 times since 1901, making the group’s find particularly notable. And thanks to their work, scientists can continue to study this mysterious species, Fimbres Wood said.
It will become part of the Scripps Institution’s marine vertebrate collection, one of the world’s largest collections of deep-sea fishes, Fimbres Wood said.
Photos: Scientists document “rare” discovery while swimming
It is not clear why the “mysterious species” was spotted above the surface, but it provided an excellent opportunity for Emily Miller, Natalia Erazo, Alejandro Cano-Lasso Carretero, Gabriella Costa Machado da Cruz, Michael Wang and Luis Erazo to snap a few photos with the oarfish before it was flipped over.
Scientists at NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Scripps Institution worked to learn more about the specimens collected and performed an autopsy on Friday to determine the cause of death. Fimbres Wood could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon on the details of the autopsy.
What makes the oarfish particularly interesting to see is that they typically live in the deep sea, between 700 and 3,300 feet (210 and 1,000 meters) deep, USA TODAY reported. They rarely come to the surface without a reason.
Hiroyuki Motomura, a professor of ichthyology at Kagoshima University, told the New York Post he believes the fish, nicknamed “messengers from the sea god’s palace,” only “rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor and they are swept away by the current. That’s why they are so often dead when they are found.”
And a connection between the fish and impending earthquakes has not yet been scientifically proven, Motomura told the Washington Post.
Here’s a look at the discovery of the oarfish in pictures:
Contributors: James Powel; USA TODAY
