Oarfish

Scientific name –  Regalecus glesne

Conservation status

The giant Oarfish is the longest ‘bony’ fish alive and can grow up to 8 metres in length.  (Bony fish have skeletons made up of bone tissue)

The IUCN class them as Least Concern and do not report any specific environmental danger.

However Oarfish are impacted by ocean plastic pollution, accidental bycatch, and rising water temperatures due to climate change.

Oarfish are sometimes called ‘doomsday fish’  because, according to Japanese folklore, they have been seen as harbingers of natural disasters such as earthquakes. Rare sightings of Oarfish before seismic events have led people to believe this is a warning, but there is no scientific evidence to support this.

Overview

Oarfish are widely distributed in tropical and temperate seas but rarely seen by humans. They typically live 1000 metres below the surface. However one Oarfish was caught in February 2003 at Skinningrove in North Yorkshire.

Oarfish feed on deep sea shrimps, small fishes, planktonic crustaceans, and squids.

They are prey to larger open-ocean predators like sharks and whales. They are not eaten by humans as their flesh is unpalatable.

An unusual characteristic of Oarfish is their ability to self-amputate their tail. This is thought to be a defence mechanism to evade a predator’s grasp. Although the wound heals they don’t regrow their tail.

Oarfish live between 7 and 12 years.

Sources

IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/190378/115316206

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oarfish