'Incredibly rare' dead sea serpent surfaces in California waters; just 1 of 20 since 1901

I do think that this creature may well be the source of our giant sea serpent sightings.  Certainly both phenoms are creatures of the DEEP.

We see it here on its side, but that long back could well arc as part of its movement when it is vertical.  Better yet it is slab like which makes breaking the surface expected.

And seriously, we have seen sea serpents, but never recovered any such animal.  A real sea serpent could still be out there in our deep lakes for laying eggs in adjacent swamps and spending it life foraging in a Sargasso.

both work the DEEP or maybe not if the real home is the  Sargasso.

There has to be thousands of species in the DEEP folks.

'Incredibly rare' dead sea serpent surfaces in California waters; just 1 of 20 since 1901

Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY

Fri, August 16, 2024 at 3:58 PM PDT·3 min read

https://www.yahoo.com/news/incredibly-rare-dead-sea-serpent-225834055.html

Nothing marks the sign of impending doom like the appearance of the elusive oarfish, according to Japanese folklore. Hopefully it's just a myth, since one was recently found floating in Southern California waters for only the 20th time in nearly 125 years.

A team of “sciencey” kayakers and snorkelers found the dead sea serpent while they were out for a swim at La Jolla Cove in San Diego over the weekend, according to Lauren Fimbres Wood, a spokesperson for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.

A number of people, including the team of scientists and lifeguards, worked together to get the oarfish from the beach to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility, Fimbres Wood told USA TODAY on Friday.

Only 20 oarfish have washed up in the state since 1901, making the sighting of the deep-sea fish “incredibly rare,” according Scripps' in-house fish expert Ben Frable.

A necropsy for the “mysterious species” was underway Friday afternoon, with scientists working to determine cause of death.

A dead oarfish was found by a team of "sciencey" kayakers and snorkelers at La Jolla Cove, a beach in La Jolla, Calif. over the weekend.

Oarfish are an omen of impending disaster, Japanese folklore says

The belief that the sight of an oarfish in shallow waters is an omen of an impending earthquake dates back to 17th century Japan, according to reporting by Atlas Obscura.

The fish, also know as “ryugu no tsukai,” were believed to be servants of the sea god Ryūjin, according to Japanese folklore.

It’s believed that “Ryugu no tsukai,” which translates to “messenger from the sea god’s palace,” were sent from the palace toward the surface to warn people of earthquakes, USA TODAY reported.

There were multiple sightings of the fish reported ahead of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukishima nuclear disaster, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the two events are connected, Hiroyuki Motomura, a professor of ichthyology at Kagoshima University, told the New York Post.

“I believe these fish tend to rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor, rising on water currents, which is why they are so often dead when they are found,” Motomura told the Post.

The “connection” between the two might have to do with the fact that the shimmery creature typically lives in the deep sea, dwelling anywhere between 700 and 3,280 feet below the surface, according to USA TODAY reporting. And it rarely comes up to the surface.

These majestic creatures have been spotted in waters all over the world, with sightings reported in California, Maine, New Jersey, Taiwan and Japan, of course.

A group of "sciencey" kayakers and snorkelers found a 12-foot-long oarfish at La Jolla Cove over the weekend, making it the 20th oarfish to be found in California waters since 1901.

Cause of oarfish washing ashore unclear

Scientists are unable to speculate why the oarfish washed ashore in California over the weekend, saying that each specimen collected provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the species.

The unique creature will be preserved for future study, becoming part of the Scripps’ Marine Vertebrate Collection, one of the largest collections of deep-sea fish in the world, according to Fimbres Wood.

Should you encounter a unique creature on a California beach, you are encouraged to alert lifeguards and contact the institute at (858) 534-3624 or at scrippsnews@ucsd.edu. Taking creatures home is prohibited.