Posted on 02/08/2010 9:49:54 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Extraordinary footage of a rarely seen giant deep sea fish has been captured by scientists.
Using a remotely operated vehicle, they caught a rare glimpse of the huge oarfish, perhaps the first sighting of the fish in its natural setting.
The oarfish, which can reach 17m long, has previously only been seen on a few occasions dying at the sea surface, or dead washed ashore.
The scientists also filmed for the first time the behaviour of a manefish.
Mark Benfield from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, US was undertaking a survey as part of the Serpent project, a collaboration between marine scientists and energy companies such as BP, Shell, Chevron and Petrobras working in the Gulf of Mexico.
Using remotely operated vehicles (ROV) provided by the oil and gas companies, the scientists are able to explore the deep like never before.
During one of these surveys, the scientists glimpsed a giant oarfish.
Sea serpent
Oarfish (Regalecus glesne) are one of the world's longest fish reaching 17m.
Their strange appearance may have provided the basis for the sea serpent myths told by early ocean travellers.
Not only are they elongated, they also have a prominent dorsal fin which gives it an unusual "serpent" appearance.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Professor Mark Benfield Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, US
Video at the link.
self-ping for life beyond the firewall
Too skinny to be a mistaken identity of Kennedy........
video gone.
drat, that pic is too durn big for a double post! Ya beat me!
what the hell is that? is that the oar fish?
But is it good eating?
That it is! I don’t recall ever seeing one before today.
appears to be the same fish as in the video
“On this occasion the fish was observed underneath Thunderhorse in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest semi-submersible oil rigs in the world.”
Cajuns want to know.....how does it taste???
Why did they kill it?
I kid you not, that was the first face that popped in my head too.. lol
Damn, I viewed the Oarfish , it’s pretty cool looking.., the other video was toast already.. fingers crossed it pops up again.
They didn’t kill the one in the video, the only way these are typically observed is after they are dead and happen to wash ashore.. as shown in the pic.
You own me a new keyboard
This is too freaky-deeky. I actually had a nightmare about an encounter with one of these fish. It was very disturbing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.