A local instructor came across it near the Santa Catalina Island shore

Oct 16, 2013 07:52 GMT  ·  By

A gigantic oarfish carcass has been recovered off the Santa Catalina Island in Southern California.

Marine science instructor Jasmine Santana was snorkeling when she came across an 18-foot (5.5-meter) carcass.

The marine animal apparently died of natural causes. Its carcass was intact when it washed up near the shore in Toyon Bay on Sunday, October 13.

“It took 15 or 20 of us to pick it up. […] It’s one of these rare weird things you see in Southern California,” says Jeff Chace, a program director with the Catalina Island Marine Institute.

The oarfish is the longest bony fish in the world, and it can dive down to a depth of 3,000 feet (914 meters).

It can reach a length of 50 feet (15 meters) and it is not usually found near shorelines, KTLA reports.