A large, rare fish considered to only exist in temperate waters in the southern hemisphere has washed ashore on Oregon’s northern coast, attracting hordes of curious observers drawn to the odd sight.
The 7.3-foot (2.2-meter) hoodwinker sunfish first surfaced on Gearhart’s beach on Monday, according to a press release from the Seaside Aquarium. It remained on the beach on Friday and could be there for weeks, according to the aquarium, because scavengers have a difficult time puncturing its strong skin.
The aquarium released photos of a flat, round gray fish lying on its side in the sand. Photos of a person kneeling next to it, as well as a pickup truck parked close to it, conveyed its immense magnitude and size.
The uproar it has caused on social media prompted a New Zealand-based researcher who studies sunfish to contact the aquarium. Marianne Nyegaard confirmed that the fish was a hoodwinker sunfish, which is rarer than the more common ocean sunfish, and said she thought it might be the largest such fish ever sampled, according to the aquarium.
In 2017, Nyegaard determined that the hoodwinker sunfish, or Mola tecta, was a distinct species from the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, by DNA sampling and observation. The Latin word “tecta” means concealed or disguised, and it refers to a new species that has been “hiding in plain sight,” according to the aquarium.
A hoodwinker sunfish washed up on the California coast in 2019. According to the aquarium, it has recently washed ashore in California and Alaska, calling into question the assumption that it solely lives in the southern hemisphere. The aquarium further speculated that the fish may have washed up in other places in the Pacific Northwest but was mistaken for the more typical ocean sunfish at the time.