NL·0664Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Regalecus glesne
- Family
- Regalecidae
- Native to
- Tropical to temperate oceans worldwide
- Habitat
- Mesopelagic (twilight zone), Open ocean (pelagic)
Giant oarfish
Regalecus glesne
Also calledKing of herrings · Ryūgū-no-tsukai ('messenger from the sea god's palace', Japanese) · Pez remo (Spanish) · Roi des harengs (French)
The longest bony fish in the world, a silver ribbon with a crimson crest that can exceed 8 m. Rarely seen alive, it probably inspired many sea-serpent legends.
The giant oarfish is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, and ribbonfish. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iLongest bony fish known, with reliable records around 8 m and reports to 11 m
- iiSwims by undulating its long dorsal fin while holding the body vertical
- iiiCan shed (autotomise) the rear part of its body; the wound heals but does not regrow
- ivHas no teeth, filtering krill with gill rakers
In the field
Field marks
- aExtremely long, compressed, silvery ribbon-like body
- bRed dorsal fin running the full length, with a tall crest of elongated rays on the head
- cLong, oar-shaped red pelvic fin rays
- dBlue-black streaks and spots on the sides
- Not to be confused with
- Streamer fish (Agrostichthys parkeri) of southern oceans is shorter and lacks the long oar-like pelvic rays (adults have only low ridges); ribbonfish (Trachipteridae) have a tail fin and shorter body.
- Where to see it
- Rarely; strandings in California, Japan, Norway and New Zealand; occasional surface sightings in the Gulf of California
- When
- Strandings most often reported in winter–spring
Life & habits
- Diet
- Krill and other zooplankton, small squid
- Habitat
- Open ocean from the surface to about 1,000 m
- Size
- Commonly 3 m; up to ~8 m
- Lifespan
- Unknown
Hovers vertically in the water column, head up, gliding with rippling dorsal fin.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Tropical to temperate oceans worldwide
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Woodcuts and engravings matched from the Source Library’s scanned books by name. Plates marked “relative” show a close kin rather than this exact species. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.281
Ulyssis Aldrovandi ... serpentum et draconum historiae libri duo
Ambrosini, Bartolommeo · 1640 · p.311
Ulyssis Aldrovandi ... serpentum et draconum historiae libri duo
Ambrosini, Bartolommeo · 1640 · p.309
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.457
Books on Marine Fishes
Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.430
Commentaries on the Six Books of Pedanius Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1565 · p.492
Serpentum et Draconum Historiae
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1640 · p.317
History of Serpents and Dragons
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1640 · p.308
Serpentum et Draconum Historiae
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1640 · p.318
History of Serpents and Dragons
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1640 · p.310
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Regalecus glesne in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
In Japanese folklore oarfish appearances are said to foretell earthquakes; a 2019 study found no statistical link.
Curiosity
Norwegian fishermen called it 'king of herrings' because it was seen with shoals of herring and its crest resembled a crown.
Kinship
Fact-checked: 1 correction made to this sheet. Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 196745.