Another 'sea monster' washes up on California beach
A 13-and-a-half-foot oarfish has washed up on a beach at Oceanside Harbour in California - just days after an 18ft oarfish was found in the same area.
The creatures are extremely rare, and usually live at up to 3,000ft below sea level. It is thought they only come up to the surface when they are injured or dying.
Oceanside police contacted SeaWorld San Diego and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Suzanne Kohin of NOAA, measured the fish before taking it for research.
She told ABC News: "It's so rare to find them in Southern California, especially in surface water. They thought it was a very rare event the first time, so these two events that we heard of in the last few weeks are the only ones I've ever heard of."
Oceanside Police Officer Mark Bussey told NBC News that people were "flabbergasted" to see it on the beach.
But Bussey said he recognised the fish after the 18ft find off Catalina Island last week (above).
Jasmine Santana, a science instructor for the Catalina Marine Institute, was snorkelling off Toyon Bay when she found the body of the creature on the seabed.
It took her and 15 other people to bring it on to the shore, where a huge crowd quickly flocked to see the 'sea monster'.
According to the Catalina Island Marine Institute, oarfish can grow to more than 50 feet, making them the longest bony fish in the world.
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