A fearsome three-metre-long oarfish has washed up on a tourist beach.
Holidaymakers and locals were stunned to spot the deep-sea beast on the sand.
Beachgoers gathered around the rarely seen fish to pose for photos.
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The animal’s long carcass was then removed from the beach by the authorities in the coastal city of Salinas, in Ecuador yesterday (5 Aug).
Considered a harbinger of earthquakes by some, locals have now been left wondering if a natural disaster is about to strike the area.
Local Carlos wrote: “Let’s get ready to see what’s coming.”
Sebastian commented: “No way am I going to go to the coast this week.”
Yet Romel remarked: “Oarfish come to the surface because they’re very sensitive to the movement of the tectonic plates.
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“But their appearance does not precede an earthquake.”
Another added: “I bet nothing happens in the coming days.”
Oarfish are considered one of the longest fish in the ocean and can measure up to 17 metres in length and weigh over 441 lbs.
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Their body is scaleless and the skin has a silvery protective coating known as guanine.
Their dorsal fin starts between their eyes and reaches their tail.
Due to their ability to adapt to different temperatures, oarfish are found in most of the world’s oceans with the exception of the poles.
They live at depths of between 200 and 1,000 metres and sightings are not very common.
Sometimes they wash up on beaches after a storm or when they suffer a serious injury.
Due to their size and shape, oarfish resemble ‘sea serpents’ and are considered harbingers of earthquakes and misfortune in Japanese mythology.
The myth was rekindled in 2011 after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Shortly before the disaster, at least a dozen of the rarely seen fish washed ashore in Japan in late 2009 and 2010.
In August 2022, the Ecuadoran Geophysical Institute said the myth has no validity in any scientific study carried out, as reported by What’s the Jam.
