What is the Size of an Oarfish? How Long is the longest Oarfish?

The length of an average Oarfish is about 9.8 ft or 3 m. However, there have been confirmed cases of an Oarfish having a length of 36ft or 11m. To your surprise, giant oarfish can grow more than 50 feet in length! An average Oarfish weighs about 600lb or 270 kg. Due to having massive length and weight, Oarfish is known to be the largest bony fish ever known!

Marine animals have always been the talk of the town due to their incredible and unique lifestyle and survival capacity. And among them, Oarfish certainly tops the list. Oarfish have always surprised people with their long body structure and length.

However, people typically don’t have the exact idea about their length and typically keep wondering, what is the Size of an Oarfish? 

long-oarfish
 18-feet male oarfish was found in the waters off Santa Catalina Island in California | Source: nytimes.com

So if you’re also having that question and one of those who’d love to know in detail about Oarfish, their size, and some of their amazing characteristics, you’re just at the right place!

In this guide, we’ll be covering mostly Oarfish size, the longest Oarfish ever known, and other interesting facts.

So keep reading to the end…

What is the Size of an Oarfish? 

Long ribbon-like body structure, slender in shape, and giant shape- probably describes an Oarfish most accurately. The size and length of Oarfish are its most noticeable features.

Oarfish can grow very large, with some specimens reaching up to 11 m (36 ft) in length. However, the average size is more typically between 2 and 3 m (6.6 and 9.8 ft).

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Oarfish are one of the most mysterious animals in the marine world due to their rare appearance at sea level. They’re called the “Messenger from the Sea God’s Palace” because they mostly come out of the water on the verge of earthquakes or Tsunamis.

For centuries, there have been myths about sea serpents around the marine world. And Oarfish is definitely the source of them all.

Oarfish seldom come out of the water bodies. On top of that, they live in deep waters, approximately 650 m below sea level. And that’s one of the reasons why the accurate sizes of oarfish cannot be found out exactly. Most of the oarfish found so far were dead already!

Also Read: Oarfish: 20 Incredible but Real Oarfish Facts

However, many people have had the opportunity to see Oarfish at sea levels and noted them having remarkably flat ribbon-like long body shapes.

Size of Smallest Oarfish

The most common reports available on the size and length of oarfish are mainly of the matured ones. So the question is, what is the size of a baby oarfish?

Well, not too many reports on baby oarfish are available, either. However, a video report of a juvenile oarfish showed they were about 5 feet long.

As the Oarfish was tangled, firstly, they thought it was a jellyfish. However, when looked closely, it was ensured that the fish caught on the video record was indeed a juvenile Oarfish!

Size of Lonngest Oarfish

As said earlier, the length and size of Oarfish make them different from any other living fish or marine animals. Having said that, the maximum length of an Oarfish ever recorded is 36 feet or 11 m.

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Due to it being so long in length, the Oarfish is known as the longest bony fish. Even the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged the fact.

Besides being long, the reported largest Oarfish weigh about 600 pounds or 272 kg.

Average Size of Oarfish

 As Oarfish live deep inside the sea and they seldom come to sea level, most of the time, the dead ones are found on the shore, and the length is measured.

The average length of an Oarfish is about 10 feet or 9.8 feet (3m), to be exact.

Conclusion

So that’s all about knowing about the size of an Oarfish. Although most of the oarfish are found dead, the lengths were measured after that.

However, the most accurate measurement is still unknown because scientists believe that oarfish shrink in size after death. But how much they shrink depends on the species; no real proof has yet been discovered.

We tried to enlighten you with the most accurate information recorded to date. So we believe, as you’ve already read this far, you can know to use our information to enlighten others or to use it for any research purposes.

So what is the Size of an Oarfish? Well, you got your answer, right?Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing more amazing facts about Oarfish shortly. And I bet you’ll love it!

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