Divers recently made a rare encounter off the coast of Taiwan. During a dive, they encountered a large oarfish that looks particularly bizarre with two holes in its body.
The glittering silver sea creature was seen floating upright near Taiwan’s capital Taipei. According to the divers, the bony fish, which is said to be a harbinger of earthquakes, was at least eight feet long. A diver reached out to pet the animal, which flinched at his touch.
Cheng Ruwang, who filmed the encounter at the end of June, said: “I went diving with the group and we immediately recognized the ‘earthquake fish’. (…) There were holes in the oarfish’s body, probably as a result of a shark attack. I hope that’s not a bad omen.”
Oarfish are large, snake-shaped bony fish. Although they can be found in all tropical and temperate oceans, they are rarely sighted as they are usually found at depths of 200 to 1000 meters.
Origins for sea serpent legends
Oarfish are believed to be the origin of many sea snake legends because of their laterally compressed ribbon-like body with no scales. The toothless animals are called “ryugu no tsukai” in Japanese, which means “ambassador of the sea king’s palace”.
According to many people, the bony fish, which normally live in the deep sea, seek out shallower waters for earthquakes. According to Japanese media reports, leading up to the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that killed about 18,500 people, there were a slew of Oarfish sightings.
The largest species can grow up to 17 meters in length
Not much is known about oarfish, which are rarely seen: they have 143 to 170 vertebrae, are thought to feed on plankton, and are found in all tropical and temperate oceans. Because they are very fragile – the largest species can grow up to 17 meters long – dead animals are usually only found as mutilated specimens.
Source: Krone
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