A rare ‘doomsday’ fish spotted flopping on Mexico beach

The elusive oarfish, a creature nicknamed the “doomsday fish” because of its place in folklore as a precursor to disaster, was captured on video in February after it was seen in shallow water in Baja California Sur, along Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

A group of people who were visiting the area spotted the fish swimming near a beach on Feb 9.

Oarfish have an eel-like, slender body and gaping mouth, but the sea monster-like creatures have rarely been seen by people.

As at August 2024, only 20 oarfish had been recorded after they washed up along the coast of California since 1901, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, though one was seen in California as recently as November.

In Japanese mythology, oarfish are viewed as

harbingers of doom

, signalling impending earthquakes. But researchers in Japan debunked any significant link in a paper published in 2019.

Oarfish typically dwell at depths of around 198m, but have been found living much deeper, up to 1km, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. NYTIMES