Giant oarfish
| Giant oarfish | |
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| A taxidermied specimen of Regalecus glesne in Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lampriformes |
| Family: | Regalecidae |
| Genus: | Regalecus |
| Species: | R. glesne |
| Binomial name | |
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Regalecus glesne Ascanius, 1772 |
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| Synonyms | |
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The giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, ribbonfish, and streamer fish.
R. glesne is the world's longest bony fish. Its shape is ribbon-like, narrow laterally, with a dorsal fin along its entire length, stubby pectoral fins, and long, oar-shaped pelvic fins, from which its common name is derived. Its coloration is silvery with dark markings, and its fins are red. Its physical characteristics and its undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings.
R. glesne was first described by Peter Ascanius in 1772. The genus name, Regalecus, signifies "belonging to a king"; the specific epithet glesne is from "Glesnaes", the name of a farm at Glesvær (not far from Norway's second largest city of Bergen), where the type specimen was found.
Its "king of herrings" nickname may derive from its crownlike appendages and from being sighted near shoals of herring, which fishermen thought were being guided by this fish. Its common name, oarfish, is probably an allusion to the shape of its pelvic fins, or else it may refer to the long slender shape of the fish itself.
The giant oarfish is found worldwide in the upper layers of the open ocean (the pelagic zone). It is believed to be oceanodromous, following its primary food source. It has been found as far north as 72°N and as far south as 52°S, but is most common in the tropics to middle latitudes. It is thought to inhabit the sunlit epipelagic to dimly lit mesopelagic zones, ranging as deeply as 1,000 m (3,300 ft) below the surface.
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