Rare 5-foot-long 'Twilight Zone' fish washes up on Oregon shore
The beastly creature, identified as a longnose lancetfish, stunned locals on Seaside Beach, with its sail-like dorsal fin arching above its eel-like body.
For most beachgoers, the rare sighting of the prehistoric-looking fish is the stuff of nightmares but for self-described 'fish nerds' at the Seaside Aquarium, it was a dream come true.
Tiffany Boothe, assistant manager at the aquarium, in an interview to USA Today said: 'It doesn't look like a very friendly fish. If I saw that fish alive, I wouldn't touch it.'
With its gaping mouth lined with sharp, curved teeth and massive, unblinking eyes, the lancetfish could easily be mistaken for a sea monster.
The bizarre event was unearthed earlier this week when a curious beachgoer walked into the aquarium gift shop, clutching a photograph of the strange, freshly beached fish.
The specimen looked so unusually intact that aquarium staff rushed out to retrieve it before seagulls could tear it apart.
Boothe said: 'When he showed us the picture, it was such a fresh, great specimen that we were like, "Sweet, we're gonna go pick it up".'
Boothe continued: 'It's kind of hard to find ones that are fresh and that intact. The seagulls just absolutely go crazy after them.'
For the aquarium team, who have seen a handful of lancetfish wash up over the years, this particular specimen was a rare opportunity for a hands-on study.
Nicknamed the 'Twilight Zone' fish due to the fact it hunts deep within the mesopelagic zone, a murky region of ocean lying between 650 to 3,300 feet below the surface, the longnose lancetfish usually dwells well out of human reach.
They are usually only seen when deep-sea fisherman accidentally catch them when using long-lines to fish tuna.
The fish prefers warmer waters but is known to migrate as far north as the Bering Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Part sea serpent, part fang-toothed nightmare, the lancetfish belongs to the genus Alepisaurus, meaning 'scaleless lizard.'
With a ribbon-like body, sail-shaped fin, and glassy eyes, the lancetfish looks like it could have swum straight out of the Jurassic period.
Though other fish, sharks, and seals may prey on lancetfish, humans have little use for them.
Their flesh is watery, gelatinous, and notoriously unappetizing making them one of the few apex marine predators that doesn't end up on a dinner plate.
While the fish's horrifying appearance was enough to draw attention, the real mystery was inside its stomach.
Lancetfish, according to NOAA and the Seaside Aquarium, are infamous for their slow digestive systems - a biological quirk that allows scientists an intact glimpse at their last meals.
The team at Seaside Aquarium couldn't resist the chance to peek inside.
Boothe said: 'When you look at their stomach contents, you find whole fish, squids… you see things you wouldn't normally see.'
The aquarium later shared the stomach-churning content, revealing a gruesome array of prey: several squid, octopus remains, and entire fish still whole enough to be easily identified.
The aquarium wrote: 'By studying what the longnose lancetfish is eating, scientists can better understand how the marine food web changes over time (if at all). It may also help understand changes in the food web brought on by events like El Nino or La Nina.'
The lancetfish's stomach contents weren't the only shocking detail.
The elusive predators are also known for their cannibalistic tendencies.
According to Boothe, they have been observed entering frenzied feeding states where they attack others and sometimes fatally injure themselves in the process.
Booth added: 'They get into feeding frenzies and not only will they eat each other, but sometimes they'll whip around and they actually gash themselves.'
Attempts to keep lancetfish alive in captivity have failed miserably with The Seaside Aquarium never managing to keep one alive for more than an hour.
The first specimen the staff recovered in the 1990s was ultimately preserved and mounted by a taxidermist, an eerie but beautiful relic of the deep.
Though it posed no threat to the beachgoers who discovered it, the lancetfish has become an unsettling symbol of the hidden world beneath the waves, a place where ancient predators still roam and prey on anything unlucky enough to cross their path.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Insight: Europe is breaking its reliance on American science
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/BERLIN, August 1 (Reuters) - European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews. The effort - which has not been previously reported - marks the most concrete response from the European Union and other European governments so far to the U.S. government's retreat from scientific research under President Donald Trump's administration. Since his return to the White House, Trump has initiated sweeping budget cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies, dismantling programs conducting climate, weather, geospatial and health research, and taking some public databases offline. As those cuts take effect, European officials have expressed increasing alarm that - without continued access to U.S.-supported weather and climate data - governments and businesses will face challenges in planning for extreme weather events and long-term infrastructure investment, according to Reuters interviews. In March, more than a dozen European countries urged the EU Commission to move fast to recruit American scientists who lose their jobs to those cuts. Asked for comment on NOAA cuts and the EU's moves to expand its own collection of scientific data, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Trump's proposed cuts to the agency's 2026 budget were aimed at programs that spread "fake Green New Scam 'science,'" a reference to climate change research and policy. "Under President Trump's leadership, the U.S. is funding real science again,' Rachel Cauley, an OMB spokesperson, said via email. European officials told Reuters that - beyond the risk of losing access to data that is bedrock to the world's understanding of climate change and marine systems - they were concerned by the general U.S. pullback from research. "The current situation is much worse than we could have expected," Sweden's State Secretary for Education and Research Maria Nilsson, told Reuters. "My reaction is, quite frankly, shock." The Danish Meteorological Institute described the U.S. government data as "absolutely vital" - and said it relied on several data sets to measure including sea ice in the Arctic and sea surface temperatures. "This isn't just a technical issue, reliable data underpins extreme weather warnings, climate projections, protecting communities and ultimately saves lives," said Adrian Lema, director of the DMI's National Center for Climate Research. Reuters interviewed officials from eight European countries who said their governments were undertaking reviews of their reliance on U.S. marine, climate and weather data. Officials from seven countries - Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden - described joint efforts now in the early stages to safeguard key health and climate data and research programs. LEANING ON THE U.S. As a priority, the EU is expanding its access to ocean observation data, a senior European Commission official told Reuters. Those data sets are seen as critical to the shipping and energy industries as well as early storm warning systems. Over the next two years, the senior official said, the EU plans to expand its own European Marine Observation and Data Network which collects and hosts data on shipping routes, seabed habitats, marine litter and other concerns. The initiative was aimed at "mirroring and possibly replacing US-based services," the senior European Commission official told Reuters. Europe is particularly concerned about its vulnerability to U.S. funding cuts to NOAA's research arm that would affect the Global Ocean Observing System, a network of ocean observation programs that supports navigation services, shipping routes and storm forecasting, a second EU official told Reuters. The insurance industry relies on the Global Ocean Observing System's disaster records for risk modelling. Coastal planners use shoreline, sea-level, and hazard data to guide infrastructure investments. The energy industry uses oceanic and seismic datasets to assess offshore drilling or wind farm viability. In addition, the senior EU Commission official said, the EU is considering increasing its funding of the Argo program, a part of the Global Ocean Observing System which operates a global system of floats to monitor the world's oceans and track global warming, extreme weather events and sea-level rise. NOAA last year described the program, in operation for over 25 years, as the "crown jewel", opens new tabof ocean science. It makes its data freely available to the oil and gas industry, marine tourism and other industries. The United States funds 57% of Argo's $40 million annual operating expenses, while the EU funds 23%. The White House and NOAA did not respond to questions about future support for that program. The European moves to establish independent data collection and play a bigger role in Argo represent a historic break with decades of U.S. leadership in ocean science, said Craig McLean, who retired in 2022 after four decades at the agency. He said U.S. leadership of weather, climate and marine data collection was unmatched, and that through NOAA the U.S. has paid for more than half of the world's ocean measurements. European scientists acknowledge the outsized role the U.S. government has played in global scientific research and data collection - and that European countries have grown overly dependent on that work. "It's a bit like defense: we rely heavily on the U.S. in that area, too. They're trailblazers and role models—but that also makes us dependent on them," Katrin Boehning-Gaese, scientific director of Germany's Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, told Reuters. A number of European governments are now taking measures to reduce that dependence. Nordic countries met to coordinate data storage efforts in the Spring, Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland told Reuters. European science ministers also discussed the U.S. science budget cuts at a meeting in Paris in May. Aasland said Norway was setting aside $2 million to back up and store U.S. data to ensure stable access. The Danish Meteorological Institute in February started downloading historical U.S. climate data in case it is deleted by the U.S. It is also preparing to switch from American observations to alternatives, Christina Egelund, Minister of Higher Education and Science of Denmark, said in an interview. "The potentially critical issue is when new observations data stop coming in," the Institute's Lema said. While weather models could continue to operate without U.S. data, he said the quality would suffer. Meanwhile, the German government has commissioned scientific organizations, including the center, to review its reliance on U.S. databases. Since Trump returned to the White House, scientists and citizens worldwide have been downloading U.S. databases related to climate, public health or the environment that are slated for decommissioning - calling it "guerrilla archiving." "We actually received requests—or let's say emergency calls—from our colleagues in the U.S., who said, 'We have a problem here... and we will have to abandon some datasets', said Frank Oliver Gloeckner, head of the digital archive PANGAEA, which is operated by publicly funded German research institutions. About 800 of NOAA's 12,000-strong workforce have been terminated or taken financial incentives to resign as part of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency cuts. The White House 2026 budget plan seeks to shrink NOAA even further, proposing a $1.8 billion cut, or 27% of the agency's budget, and a near-20% reduction in staffing, bringing down the NOAA workforce to 10,000. The budget proposal would eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA's main research arm, which is responsible for ocean observatory systems including Argo, coastal observing networks, satellite sensors and climate model labs. It is also reducing its data products. Between April and June, NOAA announced on its website the decommissioning of 20 datasets or products related to earthquakes and marine science. NOAA did not respond to requests for comment. Gloeckner said there were no legal hurdles to storing the U.S. government data as it was already in the public domain. But without significant funds and infrastructure, there are limits to what private scientists can save, said Denice Ross, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit science policy group and the U.S. government's chief data officer during Joe Biden's administration. Databases need regular updating - which requires the funding and infrastructure that only governments can provide, Ross said. Over the last few months, the Federation and EU officials have held a series of talks with European researchers, U.S. philanthropies and health and environment advocacy groups to discuss how to prioritize what data to save. 'There is an opportunity for other nations and institutions and philanthropies to fill in the gaps if U.S. quality starts to falter," she said.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
What is a tsunami? These graphics explain their destructive power
The 8.8 magnitude quake, one of the strongest in history, erupted July 29 on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Some Hawaiians were ordered to evacuate ahead of tsunami waves, but those orders were later lifted. Much of Coastal California was under a tsunami advisory and a small section remained under a tsunami warning early on July 30, USA TODAY reported. Here is how tsunamis are created and why they're so dangerous: What is a tsunami? Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. Tsunamis are a series of giant waves caused by undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries, or volcanic eruptions. Both displace massive amounts of water, which generate ocean waves that fan out from the quake's epicenter or the volcano's vent. In a process known as shoaling, tsunami waves change dramatically in height and speed as they travel inland. Force from the seabed slows down waves as they reach shallow water. "The shallower the water, the slower the wave," according to In deep water, newly generated waves can travel at speeds of 500 mph or more, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "The deeper the water, the faster they move," NOAA says. While the waves are moving fast, they're not very high, usually about 3 feet. The waves change as they enter shallow water near land, NOAA says: ?The distance between waves, known as wavelengths, gets shorter. ?The waves drop in speed to 20 to 30 mph. ?Height of the waves increases, usually to about 10 feet, though waves as high as 100 feet have been recorded. Damage caused by tsunamis depends on where they make landfall. Tsunamis can travel significant distances inland, depending on topography and the strength of the waves. "Reefs, bays, entrances to rivers, undersea features, and the slope of the beach can all influence the size, appearance, and impact of tsunamis when they strike the coast," NOAA says. Tsunamis can also be caused by landslides, above or below the ocean surface, or by meteorites. How did Russian earthquake compare to others? Why do we call them tsunamis? Tsunami comes from the Japanese words "tsu" for harbor, and "nami" for wave. Though the term "tidal wave" was once used to describe tsunamis, they are different from tidal waves, which are caused by ocean tides. Worst tsunamis in history The deadliest tsunami in history, caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake, struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004. About 230,000 people were killed and 1.7 million others were displaced. Economic losses were estimated at about $17 billion. The costliest tsunami in history took place off the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. A 9.1 magnitude earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Japan, caused about 18,000 deaths and about $318 billion in damages. Shifting tectonic plates How are tsunamis different from regular waves? Regular waves are caused by wind. Strong, long-lasting winds create larger waves, with heights varying from 3 to 11 feet. Compared to tsunamis, they move relatively slowly, and their wavelengths are short, measured in feet. They reach the shore every few seconds. Tsunamis are created by undersea disruptions and travel much faster than regular waves. Their wavelengths can be measured in miles, and they reach the shore minutes or hours apart. Their wave heights can range from 10 feet or more, reaching 100 feet in extreme cases. Can you surf in a tsunami? The short answer is no. Tsunami waves are different than regular waves used by surfers, says the University of Hawaii: ?Tsunami waves do not have faces - the concave sections of waves - so there's nothing for a surfboard to grip. ?Tsunami waves are filled with dredged-up trash. ?A tsunami wave approaching land is more like a wall of whitewater. CONTRIBUTING Dinah Voyles Pulver, Thao Nguyen, Will Carless, Kathleen Wong, John Bacon, Joel Shannon, Jeanine Santucci SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Geographic (This story was updated to include video.)
The Herald Scotland
26-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Hurricane researchers plan a 'fleet' of sharks to help forecasts
"By attaching these tags ... to sharks, which are wide-ranging, mobile predators, we will be able to observe a much larger part of the ocean that typically remains unobserved," said marine ecologist Aaron Carlisle of the University of Delaware, in an email to USA TODAY. He said it's not so much that we can't obtain these data using other means (such as vessels or autonomous vehicles), it's that those other platforms are very expensive and are limited in where they can go. In addition, "remote sensing via satellite-based sensors only looks at the surface, and it is what is going on below the surface that is really critical for many oceanographic/climate processes (such as hurricanes)." Water temps drive hurricane formation According to Carlisle, water temperature, and how it changes with depth, is what drives ocean heat content, and that is generally what drives hurricanes. He said salinity is important too, but is less critical for this particular issue in this region. Indeed, according to the National Weather Service, the first condition for hurricane formation is that ocean waters must be above 79 degrees F. "Below this threshold temperature, hurricanes will not form or will weaken rapidly once they move over water below this threshold. Ocean temperatures in the tropical East Pacific and the tropical Atlantic routinely surpass this threshold," the weather service said. What species of sharks are being used? Blue sharks and mako sharks are two of the species that were the best suited to carry these tags, due to their movement and diving characteristics. This isn't the first time animals have been used in a similar way for scientific research. Animals such as seals and narwhals have been tagged to track hard-to-reach areas in the Arctic and Antarctic, the Washington Post reports. Dolphins and whales have also been used by Russia for military purposes. Will the data captured by the sharks be used during actual hurricanes? "Yes, our goal is to have a 'fleet' of sharks carrying these tags during the hurricane season, and they will be providing real-time oceanographic data across the North Atlantic that will be fed into various ocean models that are used to predict hurricane strength, intensity, direction, etc.," Carlisle said in an e-mail. So far, his team conducted tagging experiments with the sharks in May, with some success. "As to whether the sharks will be in the actual hurricanes remains to be seen, but I suspect they will avoid them and won't be surfacing during hurricanes!" Is the goal to have the sharks deployed this year, during the 2025 season? This year, researchers are still working out bugs and are limited in the number of tags that can be deployed due to the continuing after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a huge impact on this project, Carlisle reported. "Our hope, if we obtain sufficient additional funding to keep things moving forward, is that we will be actually doing this type of work on a larger scale in 2026 (if lucky) or more likely 2027." Funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been more than satisfactory for the project so far, and Carlisle said "the agency has been incredibly supportive of us throughout this process." The teams' partner, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System, has also been helpful. NOAA budget cuts: Dramatic budget cuts at NOAA could put weather forecasts in peril, lives in danger Are the sharks harmed by having the tags attached to them? "That's a topic that we are keenly aware of in our field," Carlisle said. "Attaching anything to an animal will have some impact on the animal, but we do everything in our power to minimize any negative impacts on the animal." In addition, Carlisle and his team go through a thorough permitting and review process that ensures they do everything they can to minimize impacts on animals. Beyond that, he said they need the animals to be "happy and healthy" in order to provide the team with good data, as they are carrying very expensive equipment (each tag costs about $6,000), so if the tag has significant deleterious impacts on the animal, "we aren't just hurting the animal but we're essentially throwing the tag away." The tags will not be on the animals permanently: researchers use parts that will corrode over time, allowing the whole tag package to fall off the animal.
