What the herring king looks like, able to predict a tsunami

Scientists claim that the world Ocean has been explored much worse than the moon. This applies to all aspects ranging from currents, bottom relief and mineral deposits, ending with flora and fauna. Many creatures living in its depths look strange and even frightening. One of such inhabitants of the ocean is the herring king, which only the luckiest can see.

In Russia, the meeting with the herring king took place only once. On August 5 , 2019 , this unusual fish was found on the beach near the Nazimov Spit in the Raid Pallada Bay in Primorsky Krai locals. The marine inhabitant was discovered in time, photographed and released back into the ocean.

It was a very small specimen. Nevertheless, the fish caused fear among many vacationers. The beach guests couldn't wait for the photo shoot to end and the strange creature to leave the shore. Few of the beachgoers realized that they were incredibly lucky, because the herring king is an inhabitant of great depths and not every sea wolf has seen him.

The herring king (Regalecus glesne) is a fish from the family of remnetelae of the order opahoobrazny. When textbooks and encyclopedias contain articles about the outlandish inhabitants of the great depths, the image of this fantastic creature is necessarily present.

The fish, which is sometimes called a remnetel, has a long, snake-like body, devoid of a caudal fin. It reaches a length of 5 meters, although specimens of 11 meters are known. The height of the fish's body is 25 cm, and the thickness is about 5 cm. The weight of an adult can exceed 250 kg. The herring king has no scales, and its body is covered with tubercles — hard bony tubercles arranged in longitudinal rows.

The main color of the fish's body is silver, and the head has a blue tint. The sides are covered with dark stripes and spots, and the fins can be bright red. The herring king got its proud name from Norwegian fishermen. They nicknamed the fish for the spectacular crown formed by the elongated first rays of the dorsal fin. This creature prefers to stay close to shoals of herring, young individuals of which this ocean predator feeds.

This fish has a strange way of swimming. It is located in the water column almost vertically, moving due to the bends of the body and the movement of the pectoral fins. The strap's favorite depth is 700-1000 meters. Therefore, these strange creatures rarely intersect with people. The herring king is a lover of temperate latitudes. The fish is found in the North Pacific Ocean, although sometimes it drifts even to the shores of California.

Oceanologists consider the meeting of a man and a herring king a great success. They advise to release the fish immediately if it gets into the nets or ends up on the beach. A dead specimen, regardless of size, will be welcome in any zoological museum and marine research center. Scientists know very little about the remnetels and cannot even accurately estimate the population of these fish.

Residents of the coastal areas of Japan have long considered the appearance of a strap a bad omen. If this fish got caught in a net or was thrown ashore, then there will be an earthquake or tsunami. Science is trying to find a connection between herring kings and cataclysms, but it cannot explain it yet.

There is an assumption that these fish, living at great depths, are among the first to feel the tremors caused by volcanic activity and float up. This hypothesis needs to be verified and confirmed, but due to the rarity of the strap, everything becomes more complicated. The fact is that even if you stand all your life on the ocean, the chance of seeing the herring king will be negligible. During earthquakes, it only rises slightly.