This real-life sea serpent is almost 60 feet long and weighs 600 pounds. What is it exactly?

This real-life sea serpent is almost 60 feet long and weighs 600 pounds. What is it exactly?

This is the oarfish, the most likely source of sea serpent myths. Oarfish can grow up to 56 feet long and weigh 600 pounds. They live in all temperate to tropical oceans but are rarely seen, as they normally stay very deep in the water. They are thought to frequent depths of over 3,000 feet.

Even if you happen to come across one of these behemoths, you won't be in any real danger. On top of spending most of their lives in the ocean depths, they don't have any visible teeth. They eat mostly zooplankton and occasionally other small ocean creatures such as shrimp.

Encounters with oarfish are pretty rare. The first ever confirmed sighting at depth was in 2008. Most oarfish are seen dying near the surface or washed up on shore. The deepest sightings (between 450 and 500 feet below sea level) were part of a scientific project.

(Source)