Oarfish: The Ultimate Fish Tale

Thought to the be inspiration of "sea serpent" stories, the monstrously-long Oarfish provokes wonder in nearly all that witness it. Yet despite our fascination, little is known about this fish, its lifecycle and how it navigates its deep-sea environment. With help of a frozen specimen, CalState Assistant Professor Misty Paig-Tran provides us with a biomechanist insights into this real-life "sea monster's" unusual physiology.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Filmed by Christian Baker, Luke Groskin, CalState - Fullerton Music by Audio Network
Additional Stills and Video by UnCruise Adventures, Mark Benfield NOAA, and Juan, Pablo Maturana, Corrine Bourbellion, Thomas Kohler

[@Bofner]

I was disappointed by the swimming animation in the museum in animal crossing, but now that I've seen this, I understand

[@catboots904]

Bofner he really do be just chilling there

[@r4tzd0ll]

yeah they really just vibe

[@ellatalan5516]

Me to

[@endershr000m3]

The fish be like \ \

[@ShiningSakura]

my exact thoughts.... I want to see this in a real aquarium though, but the pressure needed would probably make that impossible.

[@BearKenster]

Thanks, Blathers.

[@xx1norm1xx]

I literally came here to see if my oarfish was glitched or if they do just float at a 45 degree angle

[@Saxoraptor]

xX1NORM1Xx lmao

[@rachelreciproco-pinon746]

@DiaKorrus 18 Animal Crossing, Aren't U?

[@frizenies3659]

Hi me

[@susanda9469]

The animal looks so ethereal and fragile in the water, rigid as if made of glass - it's really startling to see the massive meatiness of the specimen in the lab.

[@humblemarty]

They're fascinating.

[@spydiscrgame9877]

I read somewhere that, like whales, oarfish beach themselves because they are sick/dying. It doesn't make sense otherwise, for a deep-sea creature to come all the way to the surface just to beach itself otherwise. My theory is they actually live in like, pods- almost like dolphins- and the reason they beach themselves is to get as far away from their pod as possible to make sure no predators find the healthy ones. I love Marine biology so much, just science in general is amazing

[@kimjunguny]

Its got a tiny brain, its not that smart. It simply loses its senses and swims aimlessly.

[@observingeye9579]

@@kimjunguny This comment shows how messed up, blind, and stupid humans can be. There is no such thing as a 'dumb' animal, everything is smart in it's own way. If you really believe animals, or at the very least oarfish are dumb then you obviously know _nothing_ about anything other than yourself

[@jhoelvoid2076]

Yeah, I read that the oarfish beached themself when thay get sick and dying and most people assist them so they get back to the water, but then those oarfish kept going onto the beach, and the reason idk why. For a creature who lived in the depth, swimming to the surface of the ocean is not a common thing, there must be a reason why they does that. For me, I wouldn't walk like 5Km just for nothing.

[@Fred5612]

@@observingeye9579 he’s right though, oarfish don’t really have that much of a brain and definitely nowhere near capable of living in pods.

[@alejandraponce6214]

@@Fred5612 not enough is known for you to make that assumption.

[@lewissowerby2149]

I'm taking a movie of it

[@sheriturawa1446]

u

[@sumtingwong8592]

Lewis Sowerby something a high person would say.

[@sabrinarosario6499]

Arnold Crowley Or a really old person 😂😂

[@seiyuokamihimura5082]

@@sumtingwong8592 its from a shedds aquarium video of an oarfish.

[@Tails1025]

Died lmao

[@Smash-Button]

Animal crossing brought me here

[@thomass7953]

yup

[@tazkaa]

I popped off and was shocked when I caught this fish in ACNH. I also caught the Blue marlin right after :)

[@iceteas7192]

Same

[@joemamasus1673]

same

[@TheOozeMan]

Relatable

[@servantpinkieCAC]

I love how enthusiastic the scientist is

[@bloodmage8799]

The Oarfish looks a lot like a mythological sea-serpent. So cool !!! I love the deep ocean so much, humans haven't explored much of it and don't really know what's down there but whenever anyone finds anything, it's always a spectacularly bizarre sight!

[@DJBURBZ]

Be careful, you might encounter a Reaper Leviathan or a Sea Emperor Leviathan XD

[@Grouperhunter]

Blood Mage87 I caught a Oarfish a couple years while spearfishing and they are indeed a very unique fish!The Oarfish I caught was swimming with his head pointing down at the reef and tail to middle of the water column in 20 feet of water.It looked like it was disoriented or maybe hunting something near the bottom.When I got closer it started to swim away but it didn't move its body much,it swam with the long dorsal fin it had on its back.I aim my spear at it when it was swimming away,shot it,and quickly proceded to capture it.It had a intense silver color to it,even more intense than chrome metal.This Oarfish is my favorite fish that I have caught in all the forms of fishing I do and feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to capture it!

[@abrarbw]

It probably IS the mythological sea serpent.

[@khamkham2489]

It is the mythical sea serpent. People in ancient times just didn't understand the fish and didn't understand science. All they knew was that there were natural disaster including earthquake, heavy rain, hurricane, tornado, and flooding that follows this fish. Not knowing science, ancient people thought the Oarfish created the natural disasters. The Oarfish probably swam up to shore dying from from climate change in ancient times and modern day.

[@LostHope84]

Sea serpents are reptiles…

[@ntrain90]

Wanted to learn more about oarfish because of animal crossing. Cool

[@mattieschneider5767]

Ah now I know why the oarfish in the museum looks like a stick

[@assassintwinat8]

Oarfish are probably my favorite marine creature, and one of the many reasons I want to be a marine biologist

[@ohdear2275]

I hope you succeed. I always thought it would be a fascinating career.

[@hariharan7640]

Hope u succeed

[@asatsuki9250]

so are we not going to talk about how this woman's name is literally Misty and became a water creature specialist? who are her parents i want to meet these pokemon geeks

[@snarkysharky7913]

One of my very favorite mentors and bosses had a daughter who is a Marine Biologist, she was always telling me where she was working on beached whales or whatever, I was very jealous because I wanted to work with sharks. Anyway, her daughters name is Marina. 😅

[@komayo]

I saw it in the thumbnail and was like, "It's so small and cute!" But when I saw it's actual size compared to a kayak, I pooped my pants!

[@chasexyayy]

LOL WAT☠️

[@adamwohlever4993]

The marvels of creation. A truly stunning specimen.

[@phoenixdeux8988]

If I was taught like this back in school, maybe I wouldn't of just ended up doing computer science.

[@snwfxnglcrcst]

feeling this so hard as a CS student that's just started studying marine biology as a minor lol

[@jenkem4464]

What the hell...why have I never heard of these before? Fascinating!

[@TheDeadred123]

Yo, how many bells can you get for dat?

[@austin5259]

15,000

[@gishathosaurus6828]

Damn, I've only seen these creatures in drawings of biology books ! What a sight it must be to see one of those !

[@jacksapple5773]

it looks like a dragon!

[@sim33009]

This was fascinating. Thank you.

[@Imad_Oofus]

Fun fact: Oarfish generally only come to the surface when they are sick or dying

[@speedingatheist]

Me: what a strange creature. Misty Paig-Tran: hold my bear.

[@aimeewolf557]

I love Oarfish!!!! There so cool!!!!! 😄

[@MerceC]

An Oarfish was found at Redang Island, Terengganu, Malaysia couple days ago. If u guys r looking for a fresh specimen best contact those working at Redang Island.

[@r.b.4611]

Oarfish are fantastic.

[@malia5092]

I honestly don't like how they didn't decorate the oarfish's tank in the aquarium in animal crossing new horizons >:I

[@ElJorro]

Nature is awesome!

[@jenniferbarnea3103]

I saw one of this 7 year ago over Looking the deck in Fort lauderdale. Thanks to this video now I know what I saw.

[@ohdear2275]

You must have been perplexed. I'm glad you've found out what it was.

[@kroposman2302]

There's a saying, "Before you go up, you have to go down"

[@_MIKIMOTO_]

So much information yet we know so little

[@TR-ce8wt]

i love that professor

[@satunbreeze]

I wonder if this creature is what they took inspiration from to make the leviathans in Subnautica!

[@raptorblack2269]

@@6ixthAve it's been confirmed that the reaper leviathan's colors are based on the oarfish

[@Skynaria]

Maybe because of temperature change? It's been rapidly increased with 2 degrees, which especially inflicts coral reefs...

[@--Paws--]

They really look like they are mimicking a deep-sea squid. Their long body is like the mantle, and their crest and pectoral fins resemble the tentacles. Their eyes are positioned just about where the eyes of a squid would be.

[@littlesnowflakepunk855]

Where's this footage of the oarfish bioluminescing from? I ask because I'm a wikipedia editor, and the current page for the oarfish states that they "possibly" exhibit bioluminescence. Having a source that shows it in action would be cool.

[@CollinSamatas]

The scientist is awesome and fun to watch too.

[@janinesnyder8250]

They’re so interesting and beautiful!

[@brianjackson3885]

id freak the fuck out if that thing swam past and brushed up against me for real lol

[@Robin_Coffins]

Well, that's cool af

[@ellatalan5516]

I kind of wish they kept it alive since ,their rare

[@deekshabhatnagar]

The reel that brought me here - a giant oarfish with holes in its body that was spotted by divers in Japan recently.

[@Grouperhunter]

Good video!I caught a Oarfish a couple years ago while spearfishing in Dania Beach.It was and still is my favorite fish that I have caught in all the various forms of fishing I do.I made a video of this Oarfish and it's on Yotube.It's called "Oarfish caught spearfishing in Dania Beach".

[@RavenClaw88]

With grad-school Jesus manning the CT, you re bound to find some miraculous information

[@DamithaNadeeshaWanniarachchi]

OMG!! Its a sea-unicorn!!🆒

[@Kawaiineko8]

Okami brought me here.. I always thought it's just a game, not real fish. Wow so beautiful fish o:

[@patriciamurray5189]

Don't hurt them for specimens! They are so special! Fancy hair style! Beautiful!

[@teratsukielizabeth543]

The ones they get are already dead/actively dying

[@munchkin0.o]

Thank you

[@tolok377]

Странно - в "Почемучке" 1984 года была именно эта штука. Как сейчас помню называлась: "сельдяной король" )

[@no_i_dont_want_no_slugs]

they look so beautiful

[@jotarokujogamesstuff6818]

This is why you save up your manila clams in New Horizons

[@kanasanjm]

The name oarfish does not give this thing justice

[@Raven333W]

1:29 made me die laughing

[@bubblerings]

This is why I'm not a Mirine Biologist... "We'll just cut you open to zee how you work... Awesome! 👀😬 And, they think the Fish are Aliens?

[@mathughsyoutubeworld2655]

Lampriformes in a nutshell, Oarfish: look at all my clones.

[@Birdofthetacklebox]

The new reper Leviathan is looking pretty sick

[@seiyuokamihimura5082]

It is so beautiful.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Beautiful fish!

[@TheOriginalDeckBoy]

I'd suggest swimming up and down in the water column with those bioluminescent appendages, that they are attracting in larger zoo plankton and by going up and down can orientate itself stereoscopically to suck in the prey item...

[@sheriturawa1446]

ummkmmkijķpukllllooo099999loolllllllllllllllllllllĺllllllllĺllllllllllllllĺllĺlllĺlllllllĺplllĺplll

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

I am necroposting, but that would make sense given that their main diet is probably jellyfish

[@kidge479]

If my dad threw one at my mom after fishing, she’d go: “WHAT THE CHEESE IS THAT!?” “It’s dinner!” “GET THAT ROTUND SNAKE AWAY FROM ME!!” “oh come on! I got it just for you!” “Eww, no, SATAN, NO!!”

[@bestvillagevideo696]

Very nice

[@CUATROMORCE]

great video!

[@L3gion3r]

Sexy smart and a geek! This woman is rarer than the fish.

[@jacobj6376]

'iM TaKiNg a mOviE oF iT'

[@deltafox399j]

"how can we study this beautiful and rare creature to help it live longer" kill it.

[@0oPerson]

it was already dead. Even if it wasn't oarfish are deep sea creatures that are only seen in shallow waters (and thus available to study) when dying or dead.

[@rgerber]

like *like what do you mean, water does not burn? drain the ocean! nuke the planet!*

[@FixedFace]

deltafox399j mate with it

[@nasson22taouil41]

0oPerson not dead

[@kamalhasan5671]

I can't wait for human race to be able to go to the deep sea, I know Leviathan is real.

[@LennyLenward]

It was real. Lyviatan melvelli (also known as leviathan) was a whale closely related to today's sperm whales.

[@LennyLenward]

@Mummichog hence the "was"

[@elshaddai3182]

Super cool

[@PAB2378]

Oarfish fins go brrrrrrt

[@nartron3000]

im takin' a movie of it

[@jackiedim7028]

ITS THE MIDGARD SERPENT!!

[@brandonriddett9783]

There a beautiful creature, there should be a law to protect them at all costs

[@justsayin3600]

I would think it's more gelatinous at the surface because it doesn't have tremendous water pressure forces upon it. Ridged bone wouldn't be logical at depth.

[@fishy3510]

Actually Alber fish is plural for many fish of the same species. Fishes is plural for multiple types of fish.

[@TheWheelofLife100]

I'm in oar of this fish

[@lance001]

that is one beautiful creature right there

[@tunaismeYT]

yup parfish is a mystrey

[@grimaddiction6656]

An dead Oarfish appeared a few days ago fairly close to the shore of Rincon, Puerto Rico. Today the 28th of December we have been experiencing more earthquake than normal. Something big is about to happen, send us good vibes. Never know when the BIG one could hit.

[@fredricmarquez1733]

It's like Kiting Water in a pool

[@ladeda7033]

If they beach themselves, they are just trying to crash the party! And be the main hit by sliding up on the BBQ!

[@amadouniang9582]

So cool

[@elmantishrimp1689]

If the fish is so rare why those racoon boys only paying me 8000 bells??

[@hughheifer9934]

Facts :) buuuut they're 9000 bells lol.

[@hughheifer9934]

I had an easier time catching these than a dang tuna.

[@carlosvasquez6337]

It's my favorite 😍 ❤️

[@TinkerTailorSoldier1]

Haha some people have to wait and pay out the ass for a MRI of CT. But a dead fish gets to go to the front of the line. Damn I'm happy I have insurance

[@_MIKIMOTO_]

Surgical it’s a rare dead fish

[@imsanaholic1808]

Can we catch and cook them?

[@AnasuiJolyne]

Got this fish in Like A Dragon

[@milosaysmow4104]

Give me i need to put it in my museum

[@arkanalazmi2061]

I want edit some video. Can i save this video and use it . Thanks

[@user-ro4cu7om2g]

Easy to catch when it close shore it's was a tasty yummy delicacies n plenty of meat to be steam cooked or spicy chili fried even outdoor BBQ with any desire menu taste to be choose from 👍👍😘

[@kokonotfound8593]

[ *wow the oarfish is big and glowy and its long only in the deep sea* ]

[@jaybbuck15]

“I’m taking a movie of it”

[@luismariosalazar714]

Ay no que feo caso ningún comentario en español 👍👍 saludos desde Allende nuevo León México

[@shanedangers]

thanks for this remarkable presentation on oarfish! fascinating

[@thaddbusing8141]

Amazing animal

[@markrouse2416]

What do they taste like. You could carve off some nice filets off that big one.

[@anissodon3714]

Nice

[@Karmachrome16mm]

While interesting to watch, I can only imagine what it must taste like. Maybe something between tuna and halibut? I wonder if you can get the frozen filets in Costco.

[@NamelessAidan]

Apparently its meat is not very good, very gelatinous. According to stuff I read online at least. People don't usually eat it.

[@Grouperhunter]

Interesting how the video says almost every single Oarfish found is missing a part of its tail.I caught a Oarfish a couple years ago while spearfishing and it had its complete tail.It was and still is my favorite fish that I have caught in all the forms of fishing I do!

[@noodle3947]

grouperhunter do you have a picture of it?

[@todaywelive2267]

"I'm taking a movie of it"

[@pancakelover0740]

The thumbnail looks like the river prowler from Subnautica

[@rohayaaya5525]

she's beautifull..