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The oarfish, also known as the “apocalypse fish,” was 3.6 meters long.
According to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, only 20 oarfish have been recorded in California since 1901.
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Doomsday fish have long, slender bodies that can grow up to 36 feet long, about the size of a school bus.
The oarfish is commonly called the “doomsday fish” because some believe it “foreshadows natural disasters, such as earthquakes or tsunamis,” according to the Ocean Conservancy.
Kayakers and snorkelers have discovered a rare oarfish in La Jolla, California. (Michael Wang/Scripps Institution of Oceanography via AP)
The fish has been spotted around Japan during major earthquakes, but scientists report they have yet to establish a link between its appearance and events such as the earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis, as reported by FOX Weather.
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Two days after the fish was discovered, Los Angeles was hit by a 4.6 magnitude earthquake on August 12, according to the USGS.
A team of science-loving researchers and divers worked together to recover a dead oarfish from the waters of La Jolla Cove in San Diego, California. (Michael Wang/Scripps Institution of Oceanography via AP)
Oarfish feed on plankton, crustaceans and squid by filtering them from the water column using specially developed gill rakes located in their mouths, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida.
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“With the help of NOAA Fisheries and California Sea Grant crew members, the group was able to coordinate with rescuers to transport the fish to NOAA facilities,” said experts from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
“Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps Oceanography will perform an autopsy to see if they can determine the cause of death.”
California scientists will conduct an autopsy on the oarfish to see if they can determine the cause of its death. (Michael Wang/Scripps Institution of Oceanography via AP)
After the necropsy, the fish will be transferred to the Scripps Marine Vertebrate Collection at the University of California, San Diego.
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The collection contains approximately two million specimens preserved in alcohol, divided into more than 120,000 lots, representing more than 5,600 species of fish.
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