Five-metre long oarfish discovered off California coast

A MARINE science instructor snorkelling off California couldn't believe it when she saw the silvery carcass of a 5-metre-long, serpent-like oarfish.

A MARINE science instructor snorkelling off California couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the silvery carcass of a 5-metre-long, serpent-like oarfish.

Jasmine Santana of the Catalina Island Marine Institute needed more than 15 helpers to drag the giant sea creature to shore on Sunday.

Staffers at the institute are calling it the discovery of a lifetime.

"We've never seen a fish this big,'' said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI's sail training ship. "The last oarfish we saw was three feet long.''

Because oarfish dive more than 914 metres deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied, according to CIMI.

The obscure fish apparently died of natural causes. Tissue samples and video footage were sent to be studied by biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ms Santana spotted something shimmering about 9 metres deep while snorkeling during a staff trip in Toyon Bay at Santa Catalina Island.

"She said, 'I have to drag this thing out of here or nobody will believe me,''' Capt Waddington said.

After she dragged the carcass by the tail for more than 23 metres, staffers waded in and helped her bring it to shore.

The carcass was on display on Tuesday for students studying at CIMI. It will be buried in the sand until it decomposes and then its skeleton will be reconstituted for display, Capt Waddington said.

The oarfish, which can grow to more than 15 metres, is a deep-water pelagic fish - the longest bony fish in the world, according to CIMI.

They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history.

OTHER GROTESQUE DISCOVERIES

The remains of a mysterious, bizarre “sea creature” found on a Spanish beach in September has left experts baffled. A four-metre-long creature, with what appear to be horns, was found decomposing on Luis Siret Beach in Villaricos, Spain  leaving locals wondering if they had caught a glimpse of a mythical sea monster from the deep. "A lady found one and we helped her retrieve the rest," Maria Sanches of Civil Protection in Cuevas said. “We have no idea what it was. It really stank.”

Deep sea divers captured images of the elusive Pyrostremma spinosum in open water off the coast of Tasmania this year. The incredible deep-sea glow worm dubbed 'Unicorn of the Sea' can grow up to 30 metres long.  Click here to see video of the Unicorn of the Sea

Glow

In 2003, the bizarre 12-metre, 13-tonne “Chilean blob” shocked the world when it washed ashore on Los Muermos beach, BBC News reports. Puzzled marine biologists speculated the blob could be a type of giant squid, but DNA tests on the blubbery mass eventually determined it was the remains of a sperm whale.

The Chilean blob.

The Montauk Monster was an animal carcass thought to be a raccoon that washed ashore on a beach near the business district of Montauk, New York in July 2008. The identity of the creature has been the subject of controversy and speculation. It is not known what happened to the carcass.

Montauk Monster

In September 2009, a strange hairless creature found in a South American cave had people believeing aliens had landed. Dubbed the 'Panama Creature', 'Panama Monster' and even the 'Panama ET' the creature was discovered and killed by a group of teenagers in the town of Cerro Azul. Click here to see video of the Panama Creature