Think you're the big fish in your pond eh?

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**KingCracker**

http://www.skynews.com.au/eco/article.aspx?id=916844

For the second time in less than a week, a 'sea serpent' has attracted gawkers on a Southern California beach.

This time the rare, snakelike oarfish washed up on Friday afternoon in Oceanside.

The newspaper U-T San Diego reported that it measured nearly 4.3 metres long and attracted a crowd of up to 75 people.

Oceanside police contacted SeaWorld San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Someone from NOAA retrieved the carcass, which was cut into sections for later study.

While it's unusual to find the deep-water fish near shore, on Sunday last week a snorkeller off Catalina Island found a 5.5-metre-long oarfish and dragged it onto the beach with the help of a dozen other people.

According to the Catalina Island Marine Institute, oarfish can grow to more than 15 metres, making them the longest bony fish in the world.

They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history.

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And incase youre thinking "WTF is an Oarfish?" Like I did.....

This is an Oarfish

**Somedude593**

But does it blend?

**hotsauceman1**

When I gain the enough EXP and have the ability to breath under water, I will ride that thing into battle.

**KingCracker**

Itll take a long;......LONG time, but yea itll blend

**Ouze**

I'm not saying that these deep water fish are washing up because of a Cloverfield, but we'd be fools not to at least consider it.

**KingCracker**

I just watched Pacific Rim the other night. Ya, Im with you Ouze, better safe than sorry

**Cheesecat**

I'm glad I don't swim in the ocean often.

**Mr.Omega**

Pfft the example picture is nothing:

Compare the number of people standing along it.

**Cheesecat**

What the hell is that thing!

**Relapse**

Cheesecat wrote:
What the hell is that thing!

Here's the Wiki article about Oarfish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oarfish

**AduroT**

Cheesecat wrote:
What the hell is that thing!

An oarfish.

**KingCracker**

Mr.Omega wrote:
Pfft the example picture is nothing:

Compare the number of people standing along it.

Ya the article said it was 3-4 meters long, so I didnt want to show a 25ft long fish

**Forar**

KingCracker wrote:
Ya the article said it was 3-4 meters long, so I didnt want to show a 25ft long fish

The article also said that they grow up to 15m, which is around 50ft.

So if that's 25ft, they grow twice that length.

That's a hell of a fish.

**Crazy_Carnifex**

Just think. These things spend most of their time hanging vertical in the water column... waiting...

**Jihadin**

Ye oft da map Mate..ther be sea monsters 'ere

**dogma**

Pretty cool.

**Avatar 720**

Put that thing back where it came from or so help me...

**KingCracker**

Avatar 720 wrote:
Put that thing back where it came from or so help me...

ON IT!

**whembly**

Dakka... I am disappoint.

Haz anyone tasted it yet?

Looks yummy...

**Wyrmalla**

Yes I did rather wonder about how it tasted immediately upon seeing the thing. Hmn, guess its that natural hunter instinct coming into play, rather than the "oh god its a giant fish run! What it can't slither on land? You don't know that! Let it guess what you taste like!". Meh, a Honey Badger would totally beat that in a wrestling match.

**xole**

whembly wrote:
Dakka... I am disappoint.

Haz anyone tasted it yet?

Looks yummy...

I understand they would taste terrible, since their flesh is gelatinous.

I would use the arrival of oarfish as an excuse to nuke the bottom of the ocean. Because...why not?

**scarletsquig**

So this is what happens when whales get tapeworms.

I think it looks quite cute, though... if you look at the head it looks like it's smiling.

**Leigen_Zero**

One day, you wake up and realise you're not a big fish in a small pond...
Or indeed a small fish in a big pond...
You're a small fish inside a big fish...

**master of ordinance**

Wow..... Just wow......

Mind you, if that is there then what do you think lurks further in the deeps.......

**Gitzbitah**

Oh, lavaworms, giant squids that are large enough to fight whales, living fossils and fish with legs all lurk in the deeps- that we know of. All of which are far larger than they have any right to be, thanks to the wonders of abyssal gigantism.

And beneath it all, dead Cthulu lies dreaming.

**Frazzled**

Whatever, give me an underwater chainsaw, a chewed cigar, and Bring it! Without the chainsaw I'm not going.

**KingCracker**

Wyrmalla wrote:
Yes I did rather wonder about how it tasted immediately upon seeing the thing. Hmn, guess its that natural hunter instinct coming into play, rather than the "oh god its a giant fish run! What it can't slither on land? You don't know that! Let it guess what you taste like!". Meh, a Honey Badger would totally beat that in a wrestling match.

To be fair though, a Honey Badger beats most things..............................until Frazz brings out the ace up his sleeve

**Frazzled**

Indeed. the Honey Badger don't give a gak, EXCEPT when a certain protector of mankind is around.

**Easy E**

Here is the wood carving of the infamous Daedulus Sea-serpent:

Here si the story per Animal Planet: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/lost-tapes/creatures/sea-monsters-hms-daedalus-sea-serpent.htm

It's hard to dispute a sea serpent sighting when the captain of a naval ship and several members of his crew all claim to have witnessed it. That's just what happened in August 1848, when the HMS Daedalus, a member of the Royal Navy's fleet, was sailing to St. Helena in the South Atlantic. The ship's captain, Captain McQuhae, as well as several members of his crew, claimed a sea beast approximately 60 feet in length passed by their vessel with 4 feet of its head raised out of the water. It passed so close to the ship that the captain suggested that had it been an acquaintance of his, he would have recognized him.

It remained in sight of the crew for 20 minutes and one member of the HMS Daedalus noted it looked more reptilian than serpentine. The sighting became rather famous and remains the only instance of an encounter with this particular water monster. It was reported in the Times of London and today remains a mystery.

While not a particularly scary serpent, this creature deserves a spot on our Top 10 Scariest Sea Monsters list based solely on its size and potential to do some serious damage.

Here is one witnessed in 1754 by Hans Egede and later illustrated to look like....

Here is the summary of what he sighted:

its head reached as high as a ship's masthead. It spouted water like a whale, had skin like a reptile, and was as wide as a ship, but four times its length. Its face he described as having a snout and when it traveled from the ship, it plunged backward instead of advancing forward as many fish and sea creatures do.

The swimming backward thing really ties it in with the Oarfish doesn't it?

**curran12**

Frazzled wrote:
Indeed. the Honey Badger don't give a gak, EXCEPT when a certain protector of mankind is around.

And wiener dogs do have the advantage of stealth: