Fishing crew perplexed by strange creature found inside thresher shark
A man caught a thresher shark during a recent fishing trip to Baja, California, but what his group found inside was even more intriguing, reports GrindTV.
On April 30, the outfitter, Jen Wren Sportfishing, posted a message to its Facebook page that read, "Bizarre, we found what appears to be a juvenile oarfish in a thresher shark."
Accompanying the comment is the photo of a small, silver fish with distinctive coral-colored fins and large, round eyes.
Oarfish are largely mysterious creatures because they tend to live a thousand or more feet underwater.
However, a small number have washed ashore in Southern California which is why some thought it was a possibility, notes the National Geographic.
GrindTV sent a photo of the creature to different marine experts who generally agreed that the odd catch was likely not an oarfish but a polka-dot ribbonfish.
Rick Feeney, working with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, proposed taking an X-ray of the specimen but was informed that it had been tossed back in the water after the photo was taken.