A terribly large fish washed up on the shore. It is supposed to be a bad omen.

So while the sighting of a large royal striper in shallow waters near San Diego in Southern California was a source of great excitement, CBS News reported, there was also concern beyond the joy of such an unusual encounter.

Legends about this large fish, which usually lives at a depth of 200 to 1000 meters below the surface of the sea, say that it is a harbinger of bad luck. That is why many people are afraid of it. Such a legend, combined with the large size of this animal, creates a frightening combination. And when people are afraid of animals, this situation is often dangerous for them. However, in the case of the kingfisher, it may be beneficial, as it may turn out that the fish actually reacts to some geological and natural phenomena and actually appears on the surface.

The royal tape caused a huge stir.

For now, the people who found the fish off the California coast are more happy than worried. It’s a rare find. And unfortunately, the striper was already dead. It was floating dead in the waters of La Jolla Bay near San Diego. Scientists from NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography plan to perform an autopsy to try to determine the cause of death.

Kingfish are found in many seas and oceans and have been found off the coasts of Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, California, the Mediterranean Sea, and the coasts of Great Britain and France. In 2010, a fish about four metres long was caught in Bøvalstrand on the Swedish North Sea coast, near the Baltic Sea. These fish are always impressive. They have an elongated, serpentine body of unusual length. In fact, we don’t know for sure how long they can be, but who knows, they may be the longest fish in the world, responsible for legends not only about earthquakes, but also about snakes and sea monsters. The ribbons often hang vertically in the depths of the sea and then actually look like large snakes.

The king rib may be the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, which can reach several metres in length, but it cannot be compared to it in terms of body weight and stature. The maximum known body weight of a ribbonfish exceeded a quarter of a ton and was 272 kg. According to ichthyologists, these fish are usually 5-6 meters long, while those longer than ten meters are rare, although our knowledge of the ribbonfish is almost non-existent.

It is a fish with an unusual body structure. It is elongated like a snake and strongly flattened from the sides. Basically, it resembles an endless ribbon, hence the name of the animal.

Large royal ribbon found by kayakers off California coastMichael WangEast News

This is an unusual fish that impresses not only with its size. When seen in the water, the striper has a silver body that shines like a gem. The dorsal fin is red. This is not noticeable when the fish is washed ashore as the colours fade quickly.

A second species of ribbonfish also lives off the coast of California. Regalcos Rosselli. However, this is a very rare fish. It inhabits the Pacific Ocean and is seen less often than its relative. The last time – in 2022 in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.