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Eleven-foot 'giant herring' found off Sweden
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Facebook Twitter Delicious Digg Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print .. AFP/HO/Marine Museum – A man measures a rare specimen of a species known as the 'King of Herrings' or Giant Oarfish … .Wed May 12, 6:33 am ET
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A "giant herring" measuring 3.5 metres (11.4 feet) has been discovered off Sweden's western coast -- the first such fish found in the Scandinavian country in more than 130 years, a maritime museum said Tuesday.
The Regalecus glesne, known as the King of Herrings or Giant Oarfish, was found dead in the small fishing village of Bovallstrand on Sweden's west coast, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the Norwegian border.
"Down at the water, there was something big floating. At first we thought it was a big piece of plastic. But then we saw an eye. I went down to check and saw that it was this extremely strange fish," Kurt Ove Eriksson, the passer-by who found the specimen, told daily Svenska Dagbladet.
The rarely seen regalecus, the world's longest bony fish, can reach up to 12 meters.
"The last time we saw a King of Herrings in Sweden was in 1879," the House of the Sea museum in Lysekil, where the fish was taken to, said in a statement.
"We don't know much about the species," it said, "but believe it lives in deep waters, at least 1000 meters (3280 feet) deep, and many believe it's at the origin of the sea serpent myth," or stories of mythological sea creatures like the Loch Ness Monster.
The dead fish, which was frozen at the museum, had a deep cut through its body and was missing its beautiful, typical back fin, the museum said, adding the fish might be added to an exhibit on sea monsters planned later this year.
ALSO - I just came in from walking Maggie and the TV was left on, Fox was showing happening now: at Dana Point, California another large elderly grey whale they have tied to a boat out off the point! What is going on?!
All these huge fish coming up from the deep - you think the oil is driving them up? Poor things.
Oh - it's on now again - he's tangled in something and they're trying to free him!!! Says he's 50-60 years old, at the end of his days probably - a straggler that got left behind.
I think so too Geneustace - definitely something going on in the deep!!
Yes, that's right!!! I knew I had heard the term oarfish before recently. Yes, I remember now! It's about time for another huge earthquake.
Yes - Maybe Today - That's what caught my attention about the one off Dana Point, cause I had just heard about the one off the coast of Israel! Too weird!!
At Dana Point, California another large elderly grey whale they have tied to a boat out off the point! What is going on?!
All these huge fish coming up from the deep - you think the oil is driving them up? Poor things.
Oh - it's on now again - he's tangled in something and they're trying to free him!!! Says he's 50-60 years old, at the end of his days probably - a straggler that got left behind.
They just announced she's free!!!! They call her Lilly.
The newscaster said "Free Lilly"!
