The king of all herrings was found off the coast of Sweden. The last time one of these fish was discovered in Sweden was only in 1879. It is believed that it is these species that can inspire stories of mythical sea creatures like the Loch Ness Monster
The "giant herring", 3.65 meters long, was discovered off the west coast of Sweden. According to an employee of the Maritime Museum, this is the first of this type of fish found in this Scandinavian country in more than 130 years.
Regalecus glesne, known as the King of the Herring or giant herring, was found dead near the small fishing village of Bovallstrand on Sweden's west coast, about 90 kilometers from the Norwegian border.
“Something big was floating in the water below. At first we thought it was a big piece of plastic. But then we saw eyes. I went to check and saw it was an extremely strange fish,”Kurt Ove Eriksson, a passerby who found the specimen, told Svenska Dagbladet.
The rare Regalecus, the longest bony fish in the world, can grow up to 12 meters in length, experts say.
"We don't know a lot about this species," say scientists from the Sea House Museum in Lisekil, where the fish was brought. She lives in great depths, at least 1000 meters, and many associate its origin with the myth of the sea serpent, or with stories of mythological sea creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster.
The dead fish, which had already been frozen in the museum, had a deep cut through the whole body. In addition, the giant fish lacked its characteristic beautiful dorsal fin.
The newly acquired copy may become an exhibit at an exhibition of sea monsters, scheduled for the end of this year.
