Have the giant earthquakes that have rocked Japan and Taiwan recently been pushing terrifying sea creatures up from the depths of the ocean? That’s how at least one tabloid, The Daily Star, is selling things after a 16 foot oarfish was captured off the eastern coast of Taiwan earlier this week.
Giant #oarfish off #Taiwan after #earthquake – Fear of the Big One? https://t.co/3aT68xDxFO via @Strange_Sounds pic.twitter.com/vlAI1qCoOD
— Strange Sounds (@Strange_Sounds) April 21, 2016
The oarfish is the largest bony fish known to exist and have been recorded as reaching up to 36 feet in length. The creatures typically keep to themselves way down in the depths of the ocean, with most oarfish discoveries being made when a dead one is found on the beach. According to marine biologists, this happens because strong currents sometimes push the fish too close to shore where they are battered to death by waves.
Similar strong currents caused by earthquakes probably pushed this particular oarfish up from the depths, and in fact the oarfish is a part of Asian folklore and its appearance is known as a harbinger of earthquakes. The southern city of Tainan, Taiwan, had just experienced two earthquakes measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shortly before this oarfish was caught.
Kinda terrifying when you think of it: sea monsters are literally being pushed up from the bottom of the ocean by earthquakes. Fortunately, oarfish are only scary to look at and pose no threat to humans … unless you factor in indigestion from too much oarfish soup.