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Giant 18ft oarfish found by snorkeler

By T.K. Randall
October 16, 2013 · Comment icon

17 comments

Oarfish have long sparked stories of giant sea serpents. Image Credit: PD - 1860

Marine instructor Jasmine Santana spotted the massive creature off the coast of California.

Jasmine had been snorkeling off Catalina Island when she came across the corpse of the 18ft oarfish lying on the sea floor. A group of 15 adults were needed to haul the massive carcass up on to the beach where it soon gained the attention of the media.

A spokesman for non-profit educational organization Guided Discoveries has stated that the skeleton of the creature will likely end up being put on display for visitors to see.

Despite their size, oarfish are rarely seen alive and there is still much we don't know about them. The species can grow up to a length of 56ft and is believed to have been responsible for many tales of sea monsters and sea serpents throughout the ages.

A full-size image of the find can be viewed - here.

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (17)

Tags: Oarfish

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Recent comments on this story

#8 Posted by Child of Bast 10 years ago

I thought oarfish were round, like flounder.

#9 Posted by moonshadow60 10 years ago

Awww, so sad. Seems the only time they come near shore (or people) is when they are dying. They must not be good to eat, or they would all be gone now.

#10 Posted by freetoroam 10 years ago

#11 Posted by pallidin 10 years ago

The reason they are called oarfish is because once they died and developed rigormortis, the sailors in times past used them as "oars" Just kidding. Bad joke, I know.

#12 Posted by Harte 10 years ago

Sorry why are tested samples? Its an oarfish, if they do not know that then they are not really marine scientist. If on the other hand they are testing how it died and human waste poisoning shows up, hope they tell us. I didn't see anything about testing samples but if they are, it's probably to run tests on the DNA. These fish are rare. It's possible that it could be a different individual species of the fish than any previously known. Harte

#13 Posted by freetoroam 10 years ago

I didn't see anything about testing samples but if they are, it's probably to run tests on the DNA. These fish are rare. It's possible that it could be a different individual species of the fish than any previously known. Harte Its in the article. The fish is rare to us, but it is known to exist....albeit this one now.

#14 Posted by Harte 10 years ago

Its in the article. The fish is rare to us, but it is known to exist....albeit this one now. Yes, just like the 9 different species (many of which look almost exactly alike) of carp are known to exist in the US alone. The fact that oarfish are known to exist doesn't mean that this is not a new species of oarfish. Especially given the rarity of this sort of fish. There are four known species, one of which is the giant one. Maybe there's two giant species. Harte

#15 Posted by The New Richard Nixon 10 years ago

Damn! one more reason to not swim in the ocean! are they dangerous I tend smaller fish are more dangerous than bigger fish

#16 Posted by Sundew 10 years ago

Damn! one more reason to not swim in the ocean! are they dangerous No worries, they feed on plankton, not swimmers, and the live at depths of half a mile or so, they only come near the surface when dying or dead. They is a recent YouTube video of one alive in the deep ocean, very cool animal!

#17 Posted by Still Waters 10 years ago

It's a shame that one died. Here's a video of a live Giant Oarfish - http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=254760

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