Oarfish Introduction

Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic labriform fish belonging to the small family Regalecidae. Found in all temperate to tropical oceans yet rarely seen, the oarfish family contains three species in two genera.

One of these, the giant oarfish, (Regalecus glesne) is the longest bony fish alive, growing up to 11 m (36 ft) in length. They rarely come to the ocean surface, perhaps only when dying or disoriented, and occasionally wash up on beaches around their home range.

(all tropical to warm temperate seas) Most individuals that are discovered near the surface or near beaches do not survive. Unlike most fishes, the oarfish body has no scales. Some observers report that oarfish discovered at the sea surface often swim with their head and ornate “crown” out of the water as if they are searching for something.

This curious behavior, the long snake-like body, and the relative rarity with which they are observed at the sea surface (most notably after large storms) all feed the belief that mythical sea serpents attack mariners or even entire ships in the open ocean.

However, oarfish are quite harmless. They have very small mouths and no teeth, and they feed by filtering small prey from the water, swimming with their mouths open and capturing their food with modified bones that support their gills.