2nd 'Sea Serpent' Washes Ashore

When it rains mysterious "sea serpents" in Southern California, it apparently pours: Days after a snorkeler happened upon an 18-foot oarfish—a snake-like fish usually found in waters 3,000 feet deep—a second specimen washed up on the beach in Oceanside, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. The new oarfish was 14 feet long, though members of the species can grow to up to 50 feet and are thought to be behind legends of sea serpents, and is thought to have died of natural causes. NOAA officials retrieved the carcass and cut it into sections for study. Says a police officer who responded to the scene: "It was pretty neat." (More oarfish stories.)