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Giant oarfish — printable fact sheet
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Giant oarfish
Regalecus glesne
Regalecus glesne is the longest bony fish alive, with reliable specimens over 8 m and credible reports of considerably more, and a body compressed into a silvery ribbon a few centimetres thick. It has no scales; it is coated instead in guanine, which is what gives it the metalli…
Did you know?
- The giant oarfish is believed to be the origin of many legendary sea serpent sightings reported by sailors.
- A 2019 study compared decades of Japanese deep-sea fish strandings against subsequent earthquakes and found no meaningful relationship, so the oarfish's reputation as an earthquake omen has actually been checked and refuted. An oarfish can shed the rear portion of its own body — specimens are frequently found alive and healed after losing a large part of the tail, which suggests amputation is a survival strategy rather than an injury. Its long trailing pelvic fins are tipped with paddle-like structures, giving it the "oar" name. Because it lives in the open mid-water, it has almost no natural need to move fast, and its muscles are correspondingly weak and gelatinous.
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