A rarely seen oarfish, Regalecus glesne, was found swimming in the shallow waters of a beach in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Their distinctive characteristics include their flat, ribbon-like reflective body with a crimson dorsal fin that runs its entire length, helping it swim and turn. Oarfish are deep-water fish and are rarely spotted in shallow waters, which makes them difficult to study. Oarfish have only been documented washed up in California 20 times since 1901, but in 2024, there were at least three separate oarfish sightings in southern California, however they were all dead. Despite this, scientists were able to perform an animal autopsy to learn more about this unique organism's biology.
Oarfish are often referred to as “doomsday fish” due to their mythical reputation of preceding natural disasters. This belief gained traction in 2011 when over 20 oarfish were found washed up on Japanese shores in the months leading to preceding the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Scientists have dismissed this idea, but acknowledge that environmental factors during earthquakes, such as the build-up of pressure in rocks can force them to the surface.
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