Deepwater fish carcass found in California and scientists want to know why

San Diego — A Deep-sea fish was found dead on the surface from the ocean off the coast of San Diego and was brought ashore for study, marine experts said.

He A 12-foot-long silver oarfish, which is shaped like a snake, was found last weekend by a group of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove.a beach north of downtown San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement.

It is only the 20th known occurrence of an oarfish in California since 1901, according to Ben Frable, a fish expert at the institution.

Scripps noted that Oarfish have a mythical reputation for predicting earthquakes and other natural disasters, although no correlation has been proven..

Swimmers brought the oarfish to shore in La Jolla Cove on a paddleboard. It was then placed in the bed of a pickup truck.

Scientists from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center from NOAA and the Scripps Institute An autopsy was scheduled to be performed on Friday to try to determine the cause of death.