Lurker of the Deep

Ever heard of an oarfish? Me neither, but one washed up on a beach in Oregon. Apparently they are giaant fish tha tlive in the deep dark depths off the coast of the Pacific. "It looks like a cross between an eel, a tarpon and I don't know what else with that big bug eye," explained Keith Chandler, general manager of the Seaside Aquarium, who identified the mysterious visitor last week. They are extremely rare and rarely seen. Consequently, science doesn't know much about them. But they do have a place in native myth, where they are known as "king-of-the-salmon. As the Oreognian explains, "The name king-of-the-salmon comes from a Native American legend in which the fish leads salmon on their migratory travels."

View the Oregonian article here.


oarfish
pacific ocean