Fish of the Day 42 - I got that oarfish in me

Today's fish of the day is the oarfish!! I originally wanted to post this on Friday the 13th, whoops.

Oarfish facts:

- These fish are associated with natural disasters and is considered a bringer of doom, or whatever. One example of this is how, in 2011, twenty of these fish washed ashore before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This also happened earlier this year in California, where eventually a earthquake also hit, however only around three were spotted. (Keep in mind these fish are quite elusive and usually don't appear in large numbers!) The stigma surrounding the oarfish results in it having an unfortunate nickname: the doomsday fish! 

- When I mentioned oarfish are elusive, I really meant it. Their population is seemingly low (they are too rare to even assess their conservation status or numbers!) and they rarely show up on shore. 2001 was the first time we even found a living specimen, which isn't that long ago!

But why don't they wash up on shore much? It usually lives in the mesopelagic (twilight) zone, which is pretty deep. Too deep for it to wash up on beaches... it's body would certainly be eaten long before it could get the chance, right? Well, in some cases, oarfish will purposely swim up to the surface and beach themselves when they know they're close to death. They try to kill themselves!! But, other times it's simply because storms brought them closer to shore. Still bad.

- A more lighthearted fact, this fish currently holds the record for longest bony fish in the sea! With a length of around 36ft, the oarfish could certainly be mistaken for a serpent.

- Most of the oarfish's organs are situated near it's head, so they aren't losing too much if part of their lower body gets injured somehow.

Do you got that oarfish in you? Or would you rather associate with it's more badass name, the doomsday fish? I'm personally fine with just oarfish.