While these two oarfish may not be the largest specimens to be seen, there’s little video footage available of living specimens for scientists to study, as these creatures typically live between 650ft and 3,000ft (198m and 914m) below the surface. After the footage was released, rumors started flying, with some claiming that oarfish appearing in shallow waters is a sign that an earthquake will soon follow. Continue reading for the video and more information.
Scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center performed a necropsy (an animal version of an autopsy) on the smaller oarfish that washed up north of San Diego. Russ Vetter, a NOAA biologist, said in a podcast from the agency that the fish was quite fresh and seems to have stranded shortly before it died….Vetter suspects the creatures may have been carried closer to shore by a strong ocean current, which the oarfish, being poor swimmers, could not escape.
