“…and today we’re talking about a fish as long as the day is long. But more on that later.”
The ocean is huge. It’s probably bigger than you think. To cover it, you’d actually need 36 United States of America, and that’s not even mentioning its depth. At that is to say that the ocean can conceal extra large creature. One such behemoth, is the oarfish–which is so long, and so rare, it has become attached myths among seafarers. But truth and legend are often swirled together on the high seas in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Description of the Oarfish
- Big n’ tall
- Long, eel-like ribbon body with blue scales and lined with a bright red dorsal fin that spans the length of its body
- Teeny tiny T-rex pectoral fins that are also red
- Square head with a large red pompadour/mohawk sprouting from its five head
- Black, vacant eyes
- Large bass-like mouth with a permanent pout pout frown
- Long antennae-like pelvic fins right underneath the head that widen at the tip, making them look like oars
- Basically, the body of the fish is what we see as the head and the rest is just the tail
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com. We don’t have a new Measure Up intro!
Length
8 m (26 ft)—with unconfirmed reports of 11 m (36 ft) and 17 m (56 ft
The giant oarfish is the same length as…
A)1/3rd Drogon from Game of Thrones
B) 4.4 Dratinis
C) 10.2 Mushus
Facts: Drogon is 197 feet, Dratini is 5 feet 11 inches, and Mushu Is about 3 feet.
Weight
270 kg (600 lb) in weight
The giant oarfish is the same weight as…
- 1/24,303rd a Constellation Class Frigate
- 42 six-foot ash oars
- One Kawasaki ultra 310LX jet ski
Fact: A constellation-class frigate is the United States Navy’s next-generation guided-missile frigate.
Fast Facts about the Oarfish
- Range: Lives all over the world’s oceans, but is mostly found in the tropics. It migrates based on its food and can dive as deep as 3,300 ft below sea level.
- Diet: plankton, krill, crustaceans, and squid. Sucks in prey and then filters the water out through the gills. They found one oarfish with 10,000 krill in its stomach.
- Behavior:
- Rarely seen
- Live where the sun don’t shine
- Got some footage in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico of one swimming with its face up and tail straight downward
- We don’t know anything about their mating habits, but we do know that their eggs hatch in about 18 days and float near the surface until then.
Major Fact: A Ribbon on the Wind
The oarfish’s elongated body is an adaptation to its deep-sea environment. This unique shape allows it to navigate the mesopelagic zone, which extends down to 1,000 meters below the ocean’s surface.
The long, ribbon-like body helps the oarfish float vertically and blend into its surroundings, making it less visible to predators.
The oarfish’s length and shape might be linked to its feeding habits. As filter feeders, they primarily consume krill, plankton, and small crustaceans.Their long bodies and large mouths help them efficiently capture these small prey items.
Legends
The length, rarity, and strangeness of the fish has caused them to be weaved into mythology and legend.
The oarfish’s long, serpentine appearance has led to its association with sea serpent myths. Sailors who encountered these rare creatures often mistook them for mythical sea serpents or dragons.
In Japanese culture, oarfish are known as “Ryugu no Tsukai” or “messengers from the sea god’s palace” and are believed to surface before earthquakes and tsunamis. This belief has been fueled by instances where oarfish were spotted before significant seismic events, including the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
However, scientific evidence supporting this connection is lacking. While some researchers hypothesize that deep-sea fish like oarfish might be sensitive to seismic activity due to their proximity to fault lines, most experts believe the link is coincidental. Studies have found no consistent correlation between oarfish sightings and earthquakes.
Ending: So make your home in the depths, become legend, and chill with your face to the sun like the oarfish here in LDT.