Oarfish were spotted in California three times last year, and scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, said that changes in ocean conditions could be partly responsible for the increase in sightings.
A shimmery, slinky oarfish – a deep-sea creature that is rarely seen near the surface – was spotted in Baja California Sur, along Mexico’s Pacific Coast, this month.
Hayes told the Washington Post he had never seen an oarfish before, but recognized the species – which has inspired centuries of folklore and are sometimes referred to as “doomsday fish” due to their mythical reputation as predictors of natural disasters.
Historians have disputed the modern idea that Japanese folklore identified the fish as harbingers of doom, though one told NPR that they could be one of several creatures that people have identified as “messengers of the Dragon Palace” in fairytales.
In Baja California Sur, Robert Hayes of Idaho, who was visiting the beach with his wife, saw a live fish and quickly began filming it.
