A rare oarfish in New Zealand was discovered when it washed up at the entrance of the Otago Harbor in the city of Dunedin. The oarfish, or Regalecus glesne, measured a mere 10 feet long, but these sea monsters can grow to be the width of a human torso, and the largest oarfish ever found was 26 feet long, although it’s believed they can grower to larger than 50 feet. In addition, they are also quite a strange sea serpent, since they are known to swim vertically and bite off their own tails.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a giant squid was found in Spain and the sea monster was much larger than previous discoveries.
The rare oarfish is a creature thought to have inspired legends of giant sea serpents. Most oarfish live at an ocean depth of 3,000 feet, so scientists don’t exactly know much about them. For example, some scientists claim the sea serpents represent multiple species, so finding any specimen to work with is quite a catch.
“I was in the area when a local man called me and said he had found a strange looking fish on his morning walk,” Department of Conservation Service Manager David Agnew told the Daily Mail. “It was unlike anything I had ever seen. It must have just washed up and it was very fresh. It’s a very weird looking creature. Instead of scales it has this smooth skin, like tinfoil, and if you rubbed it the silver would come onto your hand.”