The necropsy of an 18-foot oarfish that washed ashore last week revealed that the sea serpent was host to some unusual parasites inside its body.
Last week, two oarfish washed up near the California coast. Considering the scarcity of such occurrences, it's been a veritable plague of oarfish carcasses. Parasitologists at the University of California at Santa Barbara were able to get their hands on pieces of the bigger of the two oarfish - the 18 foot sea serpent - and dissected samples of the fairly intact sea beast. On performing a necropsy, the parasitologists were in for a huge surprise. They found that the oarfish was hosting some very unusual parasites inside its body.
"Our findings say that these are actually majorly parasitized fish," said Armand Kuris, professor of zoology in the UCSB Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology.
In a piece of intestine, researchers found some very big larval tapeworms, one of which was about 6 inches long. They also found about two dozen specimens of two other species inside the oarfish. This included two juvenile roundworms. Inside the intestine, researchers also uncovered a hooked proboscis of an adult spiny-headed worm. Another important factor of this discovery was the life cycle stage in which the parasites were found. For example, the larval tapeworms hadn't developed their telltale segments yet. According to the researchers, the tapeworms would remain like that till the oarfish was eaten by a shark, after which they would continue their mutation inside the shark. The spiny-headed worm found was already an adult, suggesting the oarfish had eaten the organism.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southwest Fisheries Science Center took a look at the smaller oarfish found near Oceanside, Calif. and found parasites as well as hundreds of thousands of eggs inside the fish.
Kuris said that the new discoveries shed light on what type of natural enemies the oarfish has. Despite having just a small portion of the total fish, researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara were able to tell a lot about the species. They now plan on sending the parasite specimens away for further identification, and possibly even molecular analysis of the DNA.
Despite both post-mortem studies, the cause of death of both fish was not determined. Owing to the depths at which these creatures live (from 650-1000 feet), very little is known about them. They are also known as "king of herrings" and "ribbonfish" and are the world's largest bony fish, measuring up to 30 feet long. This huge size is responsible for its sea serpent reputation.
