The discovery of a rare oarfish , also known as 'doomsday fish', off the coast of Southern California has reignited age-old folklore and intrigue among marine scientists . The dead sea serpent was found floating near La Jolla Cove in San Diego by a group of kayakers and snorkelers over the weekend, marking only the 20th sighting of its kind in California in nearly 125 years. According to the Ocean Conservancy, the oarfish is commonly referred to as the "doomsday fish" because it is often sighted during times of disaster.
The unusual find was reported by Lauren Fimbres Wood, spokesperson for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, as per reports by the US Today. She detailed how a team of scientists and lifeguards worked to transport the oarfish to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facility for examination. Ben Frable, an ichthyologist at Scripps, highlighted the rarity of the event.
“Finding an oarfish is incredibly rare,” he said, underscoring the significance of the discovery as only 20 oarfish have washed up in the state since 1901. A necropsy was underway on Friday to determine the cause of death of this mysterious deep-sea inhabitant. The oarfish’s appearance has stirred echoes of Japanese folklore, where the fish is believed to be an omen of impending disaster.
Known as "ryugu no tsukai" or "messenger from the sea god’s palace," these fish were thought to warn of earthquakes. This belief, which d.