A creepy fish was found washed ashore in Portland, Oregon. However, experts couldn't explain the sightings as the bizarre, heavily-fanged cannibal fish is unlikely to be found in shallow waters.
Bizarre Fish Washed Ashore in Portland, Oregon
A fish with large eyes and rows of dagger-like teeth with slinky, scale-less bodies, and sail-like fins had been spotted on the shore in Portland, Oregon. The sea creature usually lives between 200 to 1,000 meters below sea level, so their sightings on the shore are abnormal.
However, beachgoers had seen them flopping up on the shore, leaving them scared. The fish was identified as longnose lancetfish. Multiple fish had been found along a 134-mile stretch of coastline on beaches from Bandon to Nehalem, Daily Star reported.
An Oregon State Parks spokesman said they couldn't explain why the fish had been washed ashore. Of the numerous lancetfish on the coastline, only one was alive. They helped it back into the water, and it swam away.
Meanwhile, the dead fish were analyzed to find out why they were washed ashore in the same area.
Daniel J. Kamikawa, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist, said that the recent stormy weather impact may have caused the fish to wash ashore.
Additionally, he suggested that the occurrence might have been brought on by incapacitating illnesses or temporal shock, which occurs when a fish is abruptly exposed to far colder water than it is accustomed to.
The occurrence might also possibly be connected to modifications in Pacific Ocean climate patterns, according to Ben Frable, a fish biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Following the strange incident, Oregon State Parks has urged locals to snap pictures and tag the organization in their posts online if they come across any fish of the same kind along the shore.
What Is Lancelet Fish?
In a previous report from Science Times, lancetfish is captured in the Ocean's twilight zone or the mysterious area under the sea where the sunlit ocean surface and the abyss span from 200 meters to 1,00 meters deep. According to one scientist who spoke with Vox, the area is "dark, elusive and temperamental." It isn't easy to study. The twilight zone is also called the mesopelagic zone or the middle ground between light and shadow.
Lancetfish have a pre-historic look, and the dinosaur-worthy scientific genus name, Alepisaurus, means "scaleless lizard." Lancetfish are scaleless and have smooth skin and pores along their lateral line, according to NOAA Fisheries.
This fish can grow up to 7 feet long and is one of the largest deep-sea fish. They are also hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female organs.
They are ambush predators and feed on fish, squids, and octopuses. Lancetfish are notorious cannibals because they eat species of their kind.
It wasn't the first time a lancetfish washed ashore. A 4-foot lancetfish was found on the La Jolla Shores. However, there was a missing chunk on its neck, presumably due to seagulls feasting on the remains.
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