Giant “Sea Monster” Washes Up On New Zealand Beach
Although scientists still know little about these so-called “Sea Monsters”, according to IFL Science, on April 28th one of these rare oarfish was seen washed ashore on a New Zealand beach. It measured in at 10 feet long (3 meters). However, it is smaller than others that have washed ashore, which have measured a staggering 36 feet long (11 meters).
Just what is this rare, giant oarfish and what is it doing washing up on a New Zealand beach? Scientists are still trying to figure it out and don’t know much about it yet. However, it is known that these rare oarfish can amputate themselves and not even flinch. Although they do not, as some people think, bite off their tail, they do separate their body from their vertebrae — surprisingly, doing this does not affect their vital organs.
Scientists have taken specimens of the creature that washed ashore on the New Zealand beach to study and find out what it is and what it’s doing on the beach. These oarfish actually swim as deep as 3,280 feet (1,000 meters). However, there is evidence that they do sometimes come to the surface to eat — there have even been videos that show the creatures swimming vertically. However, not much will be known about them until the scientists who took the samples have chance to study them.
