Massive Beached Fish Revealed to Be Newly Discovered Species

It was left on the beach for people to view.

Visitors to Oregon's Gearhart Beach were shocked to find a massive fish lying on the shore last week. Some were confused as to what kind of fish it was, and a local aquarium made an interesting discovery upon further investigation. 

The Seaside Aquarium shared its findings in a Facebook post, pointing out that the oddity became a popular attraction for residents. 

"Initially this large, strange looking fish was creating quite a stir on social media and though it was stormy folks were flocking to the beach to see this unusual fish," the aquarium explained. "It wasn’t long before news of this fish reached Marianne Nyegaard, a researcher based in New Zealand. The photographs she saw indicated that this might not be a run-of-the-mill ocean sunfish (mola mola) but a different species that she was very familiar with, the hoodwinker sunfish (mola tecta)."

Nyegaard is an expert in the hoodwinker sunfish specifically.

"It was through her research that she discovered and described this new species of sunfish, which she published in 2017," the aquarium said. "Dubbed a new species hiding in plain sight, it was genetic sampling and eventual observation that contributed to its finding." 

"Originally thought to only occupy the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere, that theory would be challenged as a few have recently washed ashore in California and one as far north as Alaska. This fish, hiding in plain sight, has most likely been seen/washed ashore in the Pacific Northwest before but was mistaken for the more common mola mola," the post continued. "Marianne Nyegaard reached out to the Seaside Aquarium to see if they would be willing to take samples for genetics. Staff quickly responded, took more photographs, measurements, and tissue samples. Through photographs, Marianne confirmed that it was a hoodwinker and that this may be the largest specimen ever sampled."

The researchers didn't remove the sunfish from the site for their testing. Instead, they left it on the sand undisturbed for curious locals to see for themselves.

"This fish is still on Gearhart Beach and will probably remain for a few more days, maybe weeks, as their tough skin makes it hard for scavengers to puncture," they said. 

You won't end up being a sunfish's dinner if you come across one in the wild, but they're certainly unsettling to look at.