“Six men to handle it”: an apocalyptic creature resurfaces, sparking fears of the worst

Last week, rare oarfish species—also known as ribbonfish or “doomsday fish”—were found washed up on beaches in Tamil Nadu, India, and Tasmania.

Dwelling in deep waters, these fish have revived old legends and fuelled a wave of speculation online. In some cultures, ribbonfish are in fact considered omens of natural disasters, particularly earthquakes.

It took half a dozen fishermen from Tamil Nadu to haul the 9-metre-long creature out of the water. And the monstrous appearance of this bony fish—one of the world’s longest—did little to quell people’s concerns. According to locals, who shared pictures on social media, it is indeed the “Pralaya fish”, a term linked to ominous predictions of earthquakes or tsunamis, according to Demotivateur.

15,000 victims

And just a few days later, a dog walker stumbled across another so-called doomsday fish on a beach on Tasmania’s west coast (Australia). He said: “I just knew it was something unusual and weird. I could see it was a long fish, but I had no idea what kind.”

In 2011 in Japan, ahead of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake—which killed more than 15,000 people—around twenty of these fish had washed up on beaches in the months leading up to the tragedy, reported Belgian outlet Sudinfo.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Demotivateur/Sudinfo - Illustration: ©Unsplash)