A peculiar-looking fish washed up on the shores of Seaside Beach in Oregon, leaving some fascinated by its freakish appearance.
Experts at the Seaside Aquarium identified the fish as a Longnose Lancetfish.
It slightly resembles a Barracuda, and this is one fish you would not expect to stumble upon during your Oregon beach trip.
Their physical features, such as large eyes, sharp fang-like teeth, and serpent-like bodies, make this fish stand out.
The aquarium notes that little is known about the longnose lancetfish, which, according to the Seaside Aquarium, lives in waters as deep as 6,000 feet.
“They are known to eat over 90 different species of marine life, including each other, and unfortunately, are attracted to plastics,” said a Facebook post from the aquarium.
Due to their unique eating habits and the distance these creatures roam in the deep sea, scientists study their stomach contents to better understand how the marine food web changes over time.
According to the NOAA, lancetfish are among the largest deep-sea fish, growing more than 7 feet long.
Scientists state that they are not built for long chases, meaning that they are suspected ambush predators.
They hunt by floating quietly, camouflaged in the water, until an unsuspecting prey swims by.
The scientific name for lancetfish is “Alepisaurus,” which means “Scaleless Lizard.”
The Seaside Aquarium notes that these creatures tend to wash ashore on Oregon beaches during spring and summer.
