Giant Oarfish: The Mythical 'Doomsday' Fish That Supposedly Predicts Earthquakes

Name: Giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne)

Habitat: In the mesopelagic waters of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

What it eats: krill, plankton, crustaceans and squid

Why it's awesome: According to Japanese legend, oarfish are harbingers of earthquakes, and their appearance indicates that an earthquake may hit the area.

In traditional Japanese mythology, the oarfish was known as “Ryuju no Tsukai,” meaning “the messenger from the palace of the sea dragon god.” People believed that the oarfish would emerge from the depths to warn people when an earthquake was imminent. The legend caused a stir in 2011 when 20 oarfish washed up on shore in the months before Japan’s most powerful earthquake ever hit.

While there is no evidence to support a link between oarfish sightings and earthquakes, in August 2024, divers found an oarfish in California — two days before an earthquake struck the area. However, scientists believe this was just a coincidence.

Related: New Piranha-Like Fish With 'Human Teeth' And Eye Of Sauron Mark Found Deep In Amazon

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Also known as the king herring or ribbonfish, the oarfish is the world's longest bony fish. This species' long body is about 10 feet (3 meters) long, but individuals can reach lengths of up to 36 feet (11 meters)—roughly twice the length of a giraffe.

An oarfish washed up on a beach in Mexico in 2006. (Image credit: Eric Broder Van Dyke/Getty Images)

“The amazing nature of this long, powerful fish is what many people say gave rise to the original idea of ​​sea snakes,” Ross Vetter, a biologist at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center, said on the On The Line podcast. “From start to finish, this fish has everything you want in a sea snake.”

Oarfish have no visible teeth, instead filtering the water to eat small prey. “You can put your hand in your mouth, around your mouth, down your throat, and it won’t break your skin,” Vetter says.

These unusual creatures live in the mesopelagic zone of the deep sea where there is no light—one of the reasons we know so little about them and why sightings of them are so rare. They typically live about 650 feet (200 meters) below the surface but can be found as deep as 3,300 feet (1,000 meters).

Like other animals in this area, oarfish swim to the surface at night to search for food before returning to safety in the depths during the day. On the rare occasions that oarfish are seen in shallow water, they are usually sick, dying, or caught in strong currents.

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