A group of kayakers and snorkelers spotted an extremely rare oarfish, nicknamed a 'doomsday fish,' while exploring the coast of Southern California on Aug. 10. After a necropsy, the specimen will find a home in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marine Vertebrate Collection.
According to the Ocean Conservancy, in some parts of the world, oarfish "are seen as being harbingers of bad news, particularly disasters or destruction"Erin Clack is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE. She has been writing about fashion, parenting and pop culture for more than 15 years.A group of kayakers and snorkelers found an extremely rare deep-sea fish nicknamed a "doomsday fish" off the coast of Southern California last weekend.
"With help from NOAA Fisheries Service and California Sea Grant team members, the group was able to coordinate with lifeguards to transport the fish to the NOAA facility. Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps Oceanography will perform a necropsy to see if they can determine a cause of death," Scripps said.
As for the origins of the oarfish's foreboding nickname, the conservancy explained that in some areas of the world, the deep-sea creatures are "seen as being harbingers of bad news, particularly disasters or destruction." According to the Ocean Conservancy, it is rare for humans to encounter oarfish, as they primarily live 1,000 meters down in the mesopelagic zone, where light cannot reach. If one is seen near the surface of the water, it typically indicates that the fish is sick, dying or disoriented.
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