Giant oarfish

Description

The regaleco or king of herrings (Regalecus glesne) is a large abyssal fish of the order of the Lampridiforms.The regaleco has an elongated and ribbon-like body,rather fragile,of silver color and streaked with dark oblique bars,with skin sprinkled with small tubercles.The short head is bluish.Young individuals have a series of very fine teeth for jaw that disappears in adults.It is characterized by a dorsal fin that runs throughout its body,bright red,due to the presence of a ridge of "rays" above the head and for two long pelvic fins similar to oars (hence the English name of oarfish " oar fish ").The main feature of the regaleco is undoubtedly the length: it can reach the length of 11 meters although it does not normally exceed 3 and,consequently,the weight can reach several quintals.For this reason,it is considered by many to be the longest bone fish in the world.The size makes it almost immune to predators and are probably the origin of the legends told about sea monsters.In February 2010,in the Gulf of Mexico,at about 1500 meters of depth,a specimen was sighted by a bathyscaphe whose length has been approximately estimated at over 17 meters.