Oarfish

Not to be confused with Paddlefish.

Oarfish
Giant oarfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lampriformes
Family: Regalecidae
Genera
United States Navy SEALS holding a 23-foot (7.0 m) giant oarfish, found washed up on the shore near San Diego, California, in September 1996

Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic lampriform fish belonging to the small family Regalecidae.[1] Found in areas spanning from temperate ocean zones to tropical ones, yet rarely seen, the oarfish family contains three species in two genera.[2] One of these, the giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne), is the longest bony fish alive, growing up to about 8 m (26 ft) in length.[3]

The common name oarfish is thought to be in reference either to their highly compressed and elongated bodies, or to the now discredited belief that the fish "row" themselves through the water with their pelvic fins.[4][5] The family name Regalecidae is derived from the Latin regalis, meaning "royal". Their rarity and large size, along with occasional beachings of oarfish after storms, and their habit of lingering at the surface when sick or dying, make oarfish a probable source of many sea serpent tales.

Although the larger species are considered game fish and are fished commercially to a minor extent, oarfish are rarely caught alive; their flesh is not well regarded for eating due to its gelatinous consistency.[6]

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Regalecidae". FishBase. March 2007 version.
  2. ^ "Regalecus glesne". Discover Fishes. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  3. ^ McClain, Craig R.; Balk, Megan A.; Benfield, Mark C.; Branch, Trevor A.; Chen, Catherine; Cosgrove, James; Dove, Alistair D.M.; Gaskins, Leo; Helm, Rebecca R.; Hochberg, Frederick G.; Lee, Frank B.; Marshall, Andrea; McMurray, Steven E.; Schanche, Caroline; Stone, Shane N.; Thaler, Andrew D. (2015-01-13). "Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna". PeerJ. 3 (e715): e715. doi:10.7717/peerj.715. PMC 4304853. PMID 25649000.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference EoF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Los Angeles Times - California, national and world news - latimes.com". archive.ph. 2013-01-27. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  6. ^ "Rare 'Sea Monster' Washes Ashore In New Zealand". IFLScience.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2021.