Malibu Sea Serpent

You might have already heard about the awesome fish that washed up in Malibu last week. It was more than 10 feet long, shaped like a ribbon, and is a very unusual visitor to our beaches. This oarfish, which was correctly identified by an eight-year-old who came across it lying on the beach, is a very rarely seen deep sea fish.

In fact, there are only a couple of known cases in which oarfish have come ashore.They can grow up to 35 feet long and are awesome looking, with silver scales and bright red fins, and are actually thought to be the original sea serpents that appear in sailor legends. Unfortunately, they only come to shore when they are close to death, and this fish, while originally spotted live and in the water, died shortly afterwards and washed ashore.

It was sent to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, which will conduct tests and possibly put this awesome creature on display. If you’ve been to the the Natural History Museum, you might have already seen the 14 foot oarfish in a glass case in the grand foyer. That specimen washed ashore on Catalina, but only after scientists from the Wrigley Marine Science Center got some photos of it swimming in Big Fisherman Cove.  Having such a rare creature wash up in our own backyard is exciting for everyone, but especially for the SoCal marine science community!

Read more in the LA Times.