Mysterious Serpent-Like Oarfish Disappears After Washing Up To New Zealand Shoreline

A three meters long oarfish, which washed up to the shore of a salt marsh in New Zealand on Thursday, has disappeared less than 24 hours after it was found.

Department of Conservation (DOC) service manager David Agnew told the Otago Daily Times that the oarfish had disappeared by Friday afternoon. Experts say the water may have washed the fish away or someone could have carried it off.

Agnew said he received a call from a man in Aramoana who found the oarfish while taking a walk. According to Agnew, he had never seen anything like the serpent-looking fish in his 20 years of experience.  

"It's very unusual looking," he noted."Instead of scales it has this smooth skin, like tinfoil, and if you rubbed it the silver would come onto your hand."

Experts say the deep-sea creature can grow up to 11 meters long. Oarfish are known to self-mutilate their tails, but researchers say the exact purpose of this is uncertain.

It is unclear why the oarfish was found  so far from the depths of the sea, experts say it is likely that it came up to feed and was washed ashore. Otago Museum curator for natural science Emma Burns has revealed that the oarfish had a meal of krill before it died.

She further revealed that tissue samples (including its reproductive organs and liver sample) had been collected from the fish before it disappeared. Genetic researchers are yet to study the material to provide some insight into the oarfish.

Meanwhile, experts have advised the public not to eat the fish if it is found. Tessa Mills, the manager of the Marine Studies Center at the University of Otago noted that the oarfish is "gelatinous" and would taste "foul."

Experts say a lot of information is yet to be uncovered about the oarfish and its habitat. According to the Daily Mail, this fish, which swims vertically, could be one of the sources of sea-serpent myths and could also explains the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster.