Personnel – disaster detectors from the depth

A silver shiny being like from another world, with a snake -like body and bright pattern. Three steps long, with injured but almost intact body, the find shimmers in sunlight when Sybil Robertson discovered him on Tasmania’s Rauer west coast on Ocean Beach. The silver giant from the depth is a belt fish (Regalecus Glesne) – An animal from the deep sea that rarely washed on the sea coast and then always amazes.

Only the Facebook group “Citizen Scientists of Tasmania”, in which the finder had posted photos of the find, clarified: It is a belt fish-an extremely rare and hardly documented resident of the deep sea. The belt fish is considered the longest bone fish in the world and is not only referred to as a “doom of the world” because of its mysterious appearance. After all, it often serves myths about sea monsters or upcoming natural disasters.

Especially according to Japanese superstition, it is a harbinger of accidents – especially earthquakes or tsunamis. This legend was fired when numerous straps were found in 2011 before the devastating catastrophe around Fukushima. However, researchers can only gain little from this superstition. The whole thing is more of a coincidence, said marine biologist Neville Barrett from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania against the Australian broadcaster ABC. There is no tangible evidence.

The marine biologist then described the find on Tasmania as “a stroke of luck”. Because: “Such fish are rarely rinsed on land.” Most of them would sink into the depths after their death and decay there. The authorities were therefore contacted in the race against circular seabirds that were interested in the fish to secure samples of the fish. They are to be examined by experts from the Australian research agency CSIRO.

Beltfish live in depths between 150 and 1000 meters – some even deeper – and avoid humans. They therefore do not usually go online, and divers also encounter divers. It is a rarity that someone is flushed on ashore, even in good condition. According to CSIRO, only about 70 finds are scientifically documented in Australia. According to Barrett, the fish feed on crustaceans, swim slowly and are not one of the top hunters of the oceans. According to scientists, their body length of up to eight meters suggest an age of at least 20 to 30 years. Other deep -sea residents can even live to be more than 100 years old.