A bad omen?

“Doomsday fish” wriggled on a beach in Mexico

For many people, the sighting of a "doomsday fish" is seen as a bad harbinger of an approaching catastrophe (symbolic image).(Bild: Alison Laferriere/Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

A rare oarfish - also known as the "doomsday fish" - has been washed up on beaches twice in the space of a few weeks. One of them was even still alive. The sea creatures, which normally live at great depths, were found there by surfers and bathers.

A video of the incident, which was published on Instagram, has already received several million views and hundreds of thousands of likes. In the footage, a man can be seen approaching the silver-colored fish with its translucent orange fins to bring it back into the water.

"Messenger of the sea god" a bad omen?
The oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is difficult to research due to its deep way of life. In Japanese mythology, it is known as Ryūgū no tsukai, which means "messenger of the sea god".

For centuries, there have been reports that these animals are associated with natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis. However, there is no scientific evidence for such a connection.

In the comments on the video, users express concern: "Something bad is going to happen", writes one user, while another comments: "These fish appear before natural disasters happen."

Second find in just a few weeks
The discovery of the oarfish on the Canary Islands comes just a few weeks after a similar specimen caused a stir on a beach in Mexico. There, surfers discovered an oarfish about the length of a surfboard with an injured tail fin on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Oarfish can reach a length of up to eleven meters and weigh over 200 kilograms. They are considered one of the longest bony fish species in the world. Despite their rarity, there are repeated sightings of these extraordinary sea creatures - often accompanied by speculation about impending natural phenomena.