Scaleless Fanged Fish Found On Oregon Beaches, Officials Stumped

Several freaky-looking fish with fanged jaws and huge eyes have washed ashore on Oregon’s beaches, according to Fox Weather. These fish are usually found more than a mile deep in the ocean. Scientists are baffled by the sudden appearance of the fish that have fierce-looking teeth, bulging eyes and sail-like fin, the outlet further said. These lancetfish look like they once swam with the dinosaurs. The Oregon State Parks shared the news about the fish and its photos on Facebook.

“Several lancetfish have washed ashore on Oregon’s beaches the last few weeks from Nehalem south to Bandon. These deep-sea fish live in tropical and subtropical waters and can migrate as far north as the Bering Sea to feed. No one is sure why they are washing ashore,” it said in the Facebook post.

“The one shown here was found alive, helped back to the ocean and it swam off,” the Oregon State Parks added.

The agency asked beachgoers who see the fish to take photos and post them online, tagging the agency and the NOAA Fisheries West Coast region.

According to NOAA Fisheries, these are the largest deep-sea fish that belong with the genus Alepisaurus, which means “scaleless lizard”. The agency said these creatures can grow to more than 7 feet long and can swim to depths more than a mile below the sea surface.

Since 1982, NOAA groundfish surveys have found two lancetfish in the Gulf of Alaska, four near the Aleutian Islands and 10 in the Eastern Bering Sea, Fox Weather said citing NOAA Fisheries.