Did the alien invasion start in the ocean? A weird alien-like fish recently washed up on an Oregon beach. Although it looked otherworldly, it was actually a 7-foot-long ocean sunfish.
Experts also call the fish a Mola mola. The alien-like fish washed ashore at Hug Point State Park in Arch Cape, Oregon. "While it has been dead for quite some time, it is still an interesting site [sic]," Seaside Aquarium observed. "If you want to go see it, we recommend heading to Huge Point at low tide and head north towards the waterfall."
The aquarium measured the deceased fish at 6.9 feet long. While it may seem long, it's actually fairly average. Take the fact that the type of fish can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh 5,000 pounds and you're dealing with a shrimp by comparison. A large ocean-like fish indeed.
"They feed heavily on jellyfish which are in huge abundance this time of year," the aquarium said. So what's all the excitement about this kind of fish? Well, it's looks made a splash online. The alien-like fish looked otherworldly, which drew attention to it.
Alien-Like Fish
"It has now washed to the south end of Hug Point beach. With quite an aroma," one local said.
"We saw it last week. It was pretty deteriorated then," another added.
But it's actually the four sunfish to come to shore in the area this year.
One of those fishe included a hoodwinker sunfish and possibly the larger sunfish ever spotted by humans.
"It is not unusual for [sunfish] to wash ashore as they do reside off the Oregon Coast," the aquarium noted. "We are getting more reports because of the stir that the Mola tecta caused when it washed in (it was the first Mola tecta documented in Oregon, but that is likely because it has just recently been described and designated as a new species)."
"People are aware that we are interested in documenting these strandings and collecting information from them." So it's not an alien. But that doesn't make the creature just as strange. There's a hidden world right beneath the surface.
