Rare 5-foot-long 'Twilight Zone' fish washes up on Oregon shore: 'I wouldn't touch it'

A haunting astonishment surfaced from the shadowy depths of the Pacific Ocean connected the Oregon seashore earlier this week - a fang-toothed predator astir 5 feet long, caller from the alleged 'Twilight Zone' of the sea.

The beastly creature, identified arsenic a longnose lancetfish, stunned locals erstwhile it washed up connected Seaside Beach, with its sail-like dorsal fin arching menacingly supra its eel-like body. 

For astir beachgoers, the uncommon sighting of the prehistoric-looking food is the worldly of nightmares but for self-described 'fish nerds' astatine the Seaside Aquarium, it was a imagination travel true.

'It doesn't look similar a precise affable fish. If I saw that food alive, I wouldn't interaction it,' admitted Tiffany Boothe, adjunct manager astatine the aquarium, successful an interrogation to USA Today following the discovery.

With its gaping rima lined with sharp, curved teeth and massive, unblinking eyes, the lancetfish could easy beryllium mistaken for a oversea monster torn from myth. But it is precise existent - and precise seldom seen successful specified pristine information supra the waves. 

The bizarre crook of events began earlier this week erstwhile a funny beachgoer wandered into the aquarium acquisition shop, clutching a photograph of the strange, freshly beached fish. 

The specimen looked truthful unusually intact that aquarium unit rushed retired instantly to retrieve it earlier Oregon's voracious seagulls could teardrop it apart.

'When helium showed america the picture, it was specified a fresh, large specimen that we were like, "Sweet, we're gonna spell prime it up,"' Boothe recounted. 

'It's benignant of hard to find ones that are caller and that intact. The seagulls conscionable perfectly spell brainsick aft them.'

For the aquarium squad who person seen a fistful of lancetfish lavation up implicit the years, this peculiar specimen was a uncommon accidental for hands-on study.

Nicknamed the 'Twilight Zone' food owed to its hunting grounds heavy wrong the mesopelagic zone, a murky portion of water lying betwixt 650 to 3,300 feet beneath the surface, the longnose lancetfish usually dwells good retired of quality reach. 

They are usually seen lone erstwhile deep-sea fisherman accidentally drawback them portion utilizing long-lines to effort to drawback tuna. 

The food similar warmer waters but is known to migrate arsenic acold northbound arsenic the Bering Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Part oversea serpent, portion fang-toothed nightmare, the lancetfish belongs to the genus Alepisaurus, meaning 'scaleless lizard.' 

This dinosaur-worthy sanction lone adds to the creature's eerie, past mystique. 

With a ribbon-like body, sail-shaped fin, and glassy eyes, the lancetfish looks similar it could person swum consecutive retired of the Jurassic period.

Though different fish, sharks, and seals whitethorn prey connected lancetfish, humans person small usage for them. 

Their soma is watery, gelatinous, and notoriously unappetizing making them 1 of the fewer apex marine predators that doesn't extremity up connected a meal plate.

While the fish's horrifying quality was capable to gully attention, the existent enigma laic wrong its stomach.

Lancetfish, according to NOAA and the Seaside Aquarium, are infamous for their dilatory digestive systems - a biologic quirk that allows scientists a rare, intact glimpse astatine their past meals. 

The squad astatine Seaside Aquarium couldn't defy the accidental to peek inside.

'When you look astatine their tummy contents, you find full fish, squids… you spot things you wouldn't usually see,' Boothe explained.

The aquarium aboriginal shared the stomach-churning content, revealing a gruesome array of prey: respective squid, octopus remains, and full food inactive full capable to beryllium easy identified.

'By studying what the longnose lancetfish is eating, scientists tin amended recognize however the marine nutrient web changes implicit clip (if astatine all). It whitethorn besides assistance recognize changes successful the nutrient web brought connected by events similar El Niño oregon La Niña,' the aquarium wrote.

The lancetfish's tummy contents weren't the lone shocking detail. 

These elusive predators are besides known for their cannibalistic tendencies, often feeding connected different lancetfish. 

According to Boothe, they've been observed entering frenzied feeding states wherever they not lone onslaught others, but sometimes fatally injure themselves successful the process.

'They get into feeding frenzies and not lone volition they devour each other, but sometimes they'll whip astir and they really gash themselves,' Boothe noted.

Attempts to support lancetfish live successful captivity person failed miserably. 

The Seaside Aquarium has ne'er managed to support 1 live for much than an hour. 

The archetypal specimen the unit recovered backmost successful the 1990s was yet preserved and mounted by a taxidermist, an eerie but beauteous relic of the deep.

'It's really precise beautiful,' Boothe said of the preserved specimen.

Though it posed nary menace to the beachgoers who discovered it, the lancetfish has go an unsettling awesome of the hidden satellite beneath the waves, a spot wherever past predators inactive roam and prey connected thing unlucky capable to transverse their path.