Giant oarfish

Giant oarfish
A taxidermied specimen of Regalecus glesne in Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lampriformes
Family: Regalecidae
Genus: Regalecus
Species:
R. glesne
Binomial name
Regalecus glesne
Ascanius, 1772
Synonyms [2]
Synonyms
  • Cephalepis octomaculatus Rafinesque, 1810
  • Cepola gladius Walbaum, 1792
  • Gymnetrus ascanii Shaw, 1803
  • Gymnetrus banksii Valenciennes, 1835
  • Gymnetrus capensis Valenciennes, 1835
  • Gymnetrus gladius Valenciennes, 1835
  • Gymnetrus grillii Lindroth, 1798
  • Gymnetrus hawkenii Bloch, 1795
  • Gymnetrus longiradiatus Risso, 1820
  • Gymnetrus telum Valenciennes, 1835
  • Regalecus banksii (Valenciennes, 1835)
  • Regalecus caudatus Zugmayer, 1914
  • Regalecus jonesii Newman, 1860
  • Regalecus masterii De Vis, 1891
  • Regalecus pacificus Haast, 1878
  • Regalecus remipes Brünnich, 1788

The giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, ribbonfish, and streamer fish.

R. glesne is the world's longest ray-finned fish. Its shape is ribbon-like, narrow laterally, with a dorsal fin along its entire length, stubby pectoral fins, and long, oar-shaped pelvic fins, from which its common name is derived.[3] Its coloration is silver and blue with spots of dark pigmentation, and its fins are crimson.[4] Its physical characteristics and undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference iucn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ R., Roberts, Tyson (2012). Systematics, biology, and distribution of the species of the oceanic Oarfish genus Regalecus Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Regalecidae. Publications Scientifiques du Muséum. ISBN 978-2-85653-677-3. OCLC 835964768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Smith, Margaret M. (1986). Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 403. ISBN 978-3-540-16851-5.
  5. ^ Helfman, Gene S. (1 June 2015). "Secrets of a sea serpent revealed". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 98 (6): 1723–1726. Bibcode:2015EnvBF..98.1723H. doi:10.1007/s10641-015-0380-x. ISSN 1573-5133. S2CID 17197827.