We recently wrote about the whale that washed ashore in Nehalem State Park, and the rumors that it was going to be exploded like the famous exploding whale of 1970. Now we're here to bring you the tale of a massive 7.3 foot fish on Gearhart Beach north of Seaside.
Ever heard of the Hoodwinker Sunfish? That's ok, we haven't either. This huge fish, also known as the Mola Tecta, was only discovered recently in 2014. It's the first brand new species of sunfish to be discovered in the last 130 years and is usually found in the southern hemisphere. Since it was discovered, only three of these fish have been spotted in the northern hemisphere, making this one that washed up on the Oregon coast the fourth in recent years.
This hoodwinker sunfish was found on Gearhart Beach on June 3rd, 2024 and is still there today on June 7th. Experts say that it's likely to stay on shore for quite some time as its tough skin makes it hard for other animals to punch through so they can eat it.
Staff at the Seaside Aquarium have taken photographs, measurements and tissue samples of the fish to send off to Marianne Nyegaard, the researcher based in New Zealand who discovered this new species.
You can see from the photos that this fish is large. It's not as big as a whale, but people have been heading out to Gearhart Beach to check it out, especially since it's been getting a lot of coverage on social media. While the fish may be on the beach for several more days (or weeks), we can only hope that there are no plans by the state to pack it with explosives and send the pieces sky high.
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