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On the beaches of Encinitas, California, the rare deep-water oarfish, which is said to be a sign of bad news, was discovered once again.
It was just the 22nd sighting of the species in the previous century and the third in the state in the last three months.
According to a Scripps Facebook post, Alison Laferriere of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego discovered the 9-foot oarfish on the sands of Grandview Beach on November 6.
According to the post, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service subsequently retrieved the dead specimen and brought it to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
Ben Frable, manager of the Scripps Oceanography Marine Vertebrate Collection, said in the article, “We collected samples and frozen.
The specimen awaiting additional research and final preservation in the Marine Vertebrate Collection.”
Atlas Obscura claims that in Japanese legend, the deep-sea oarfish’s shallow-water sightings are seen as signs of impending earthquakes and tsunamis.
According to Ocean Conservancy, at least a dozen were observed on Japan’s shoreline in 2010, just before the country’s greatest recorded earthquake occurred in March 2011.
According to Natural World Facts, there are theories that the species are killed by the tectonic movement that occurs before earthquakes.
Which is why they wash up on beaches just before an earthquake occurs. But according to GeoScience, a 2019 research revealed no connection between oarfish sightings and earthquake frequency in Japan.
Because it lives in the sea’s least studied ecosystem—the mesopelagic zone, which is found up to 3,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.
The so-called “doomsday” species is seldom observed by people and is still mostly unknown to scientists, according to Ocean Conservancy.
“This specimen and the samples taken from it will be able to tell us much about the biology, anatomy, genomics, and life history of oarfish, just like with the previous oarfish,” Frable said in the article.
A Scripps press release said that the first oarfish washed ashore in La Jolla Cove in August. Kayakers and snorkelers saw the 12-foot-long specimen close to the San Diego beach.
Which is surrounded by two underwater canyons that drive deep water toward the coast. According to the statement, the fish was discovered.
To be in excellent condition and was brought in for analysis and preservation in order to join the organization’s Marine Vertebrate Collection.
According to Scripps, the collection is among the biggest of all deep-sea fish in the world. According to Scripps, oarfish are often referred to as “sea serpents” due to their long, “ribbon-like silvery body,” which may reach a length of thirty feet.
According to Ocean Conservancy, the fish are seldom seen alive since they usually only leave their native habitats when they are in danger.
at September, another oarfish was found at Huntington Beach, but Frable told CNN that it was “quite degraded.”
He adds there are several factors that might have contributed to the appearance and demise of these oarfish.
Frable speculated that the rise of oarfish off our coast and changes in ocean conditions may be the cause.
“Many factors could cause these strandings, but this wash-up coincided with the recent red tide and Santa Ana winds last week.”
According to the press release, scientists have had the opportunity to get a better understanding of the enigmatic organism and its survival strategies from sightings of this species on beaches throughout the years.
Dahiana Arcila, a marine biologist and curator of the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps, stated in the release.
“This oarfish offers a unique chance to acquire fresh samples for genomic analysis, enabling us to study the evolutionary adaptations that enable this species to thrive in deep-sea environments.”