Oarfish

Regalecus glesne. Also king of herrings. New Zealand. Caught circa 1890. Mounted in 1930.

Unscathed oarfish are seldom caught and therefore rarely seen in museums. At six meters long, this specimen was extremely difficult to mount.

KING OF HERRINGS
A body of silver, a fin of fire … like a great dragon, like a snake from the depth of hell … With its bizarre appearance, huge length and covert way of life, the harmless oarfish was probably the origin of many legends about deep-sea snakes. The term “king of herrings” is also based on a misconception: by no means does the oarfish typically guide shoals of herring.
Oarfish are found in tropical and moderate oceans generally at great depths. Very few humans have ever seen a live one. It was not until 2010 that a specimen was filmed in its natural habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. In the main at most parts of stranded cadavers are found, generally causing quite a stir. Only in Taiwan are oarfish not a welcome sight. There it is considered to be a sign of an imminent earthquake when a king of herrings comes to the surface.
Growing up to eleven meters long, the oarfish is the longest of all bony fishes. The elongated dorsal fin extends like a fringe from the eyes to the tip of the tail; the foremost fin rays are a luminous red. The pelvic fins consist of one very elongated ray on each side, attached close to the head, below the pectoral fins. By undulating the dorsal long dorsal fin, the “king of herrings” can attain impressive speeds. The toothless mouth would seem to indicate that oarfish feed on plankton.
Despite their extreme scarcity, oarfishes are caught with nets – a threat to the populations, which breed extremely slowly.