PHOTOS: Fish That Eats Its Own Tail And Swims Vertically Washes Up On Beach

Department of Conservation service manager David Agnew pictured with a three-metre oarfish which washed up at the entrance of the Otago Harbour on Thursday

Scientists are baffled after discovering a rare deep sea oarfish had washed up on a salt marsh, Otago Harbour, in Dunedin, New Zealand.
The bizarre creature was found by a local man and immediately snapped some images that were later sent to the University of Otago for testing. The fish, which can grow to eleven metres in length, are known for vertical swimming and eating parts of their own tails.
Scientists have been unable to explain why they self-amputate, but some have proposed it is a form of protection.The frightening appearance of the fish means they have have been associated with various myths, including people mistaking them for sea-serpents.

Samples of the deep sea fish, known to swim vertically as well self-amputate its own tail, were sent to see Otago Museum for testing

David Agnew, one of the experts from Department of Conservation commented on the unusual catch: “I was in the area when a local man called me and said he had found a strange looking fish on his morning walk. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. It must have just washed up and it was very fresh.

The bizarre deep sea creatures are known to swim vertically as well as eating sections of their own tail

It’s a very weird looking creature. Instead of scales it has this smooth skin, like tinfoil, and if you rubbed it the silver would come onto your hand. They got back to me very quickly to say it was an oarfish, which I had never heard of. It’s incredibly rare to see them in New Zealand.”

The frightening appearance of the fish has led to some people mistaking them for mythical sea-serpents

Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic lampriform fish. The common name oarfish is thought to be in reference either to their highly compressed and elongated bodies, or to the now discredited belief that the fish “row” themselves through the water with their pelvic fins.

United States servicemen holding a 7m giant oarfish, found washed up on the shore near San Diego, California in September 1996

The occasional beachings of oarfish after storms, and their habit of lingering at the surface when sick or dying, make oarfish a probable source of many sea serpent tales. Oarfish are rarely caught alive, their flesh is not well regarded for eating due to its gelatinous consistency.