Potential largest-ever, rare fish washes ashore on Oregon beach
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A fairly newly discovered species of fish has washed ashore on the Oregon Coast — and it could be the largest specimen sampled to date.
The fish measuring at 7 feet and 3 inches was found on Gearhart Beach just outside of Seaside on Monday. Seaside Aquarium said the finding caused “quite a stir” online, bringing flocks of people to the area to see the fish in person.
When New-Zealand-based researcher Mariann Nyegaard saw the photos, she determined that it wasn’t the typical ocean sunfish known as the Mola mola. She recognized it as the hoodwinker sunfish, or Mola tecta.
According to the aquarium, Nyegaard first identified the species in research published in 2017.
“Dubbed a new species hiding in plain sight, it was genetic sampling and eventual observation that contributed to its finding,” Seaside Aquarium wrote on Facebook. “Originally thought to only occupy the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere, that theory would be challenged as a few have recently washed ashore in California and one as far north as Alaska.”
Researchers believe the species could have been spotted in the Pacific Northwest, but was confused with the Mola mola.
Aquarium staff took more photos, measurements and tissue samples of the specimen to assist Nyegaard with her research. She suspects this is the largest hoodwinker sunfish ever seen.
The fish remains at Gearhart Beach. The aquarium said it could stay there for a few more days, or potentially weeks, thanks to the species' tough skin.