Friday, April 17, 2015

Material from an unusual deep sea fish is being analysed by local scientists, after the fish washed up on the Aramoana sand spit.

The oarfish was discovered by an Aramoana resident, who contacted the Department of Conservation.

It's now been taken off the beach, but scientists have collected samples for testing.

The fish was three metres in length, about double the size of a specimen currently kept at the Otago Museum.

Staff initially planned to bury the fish in sand, to allow insects and bugs to eat the flesh.

They were hoping to unearth the skeleton and display it at the museum.

But the fish has since disappeared from the sand spit.

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