Kayakers have found a rare deep-sea oarfish, also known as a “doomsday fish,” dead while snorkeling in La Jolla, California, USA, Fox News reported.
The Doomsday Fish, found by the group in La Jolla, was transported to NOAA’s facility with the help of lifeguards, NOAA Fisheries Service, and California Sea Grant team members.
Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps Oceanography will perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
Following the necropsy, the fish will join the Scripps Marine Vertebrate Collection at UC San Diego, which houses over two million preserved specimens representing more than 5,600 species.
Oarfish, with bodies that can reach up to 10 meters, are believed by some to foreshadow natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis.
While these fish have been observed around Japan during major earthquakes, scientists have yet to confirm a direct link between the oarfish’s appearances and seismic events.
Two days after the fish’s discovery, Los Angeles experienced a 5.2-magnitude earthquake on August 12, according to the USGS.
Oarfish primarily feed on plankton, crustaceans, and squid, using specialized gill rakes to strain food from the water column.
The 12-foot-long fish is one of only 20 oarfish reported in California since 1901, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
The oarfish has long been surrounded by myths, particularly in Japanese culture, where it is seen as an omen of disaster.
Despite these myths, oarfish are not well understood, partly because they live at depths of 199 to 1,005 meters and have a lifespan that can extend several decades.