A rarely seen creature called an oarfish, historically regarded as a harbinger of doom, has been spotted for the second time this year off California’s coast. The ‘doomsday fish’ was found by a PhD student from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California,

For the second time this year, an oarfish has washed up on a California beach. The 'doomsday fish' is considered a harbinger of doom in Japanese folklore.

A rare doomsday fish (oarfish) was spotted by scientists of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at Grandview Beach in southern California

For the second time this year, a deep-sea oarfish has washed ashore in San Diego County, giving scientists a rare chance to study the species.

A member of the Scripps Oceanography team spotted the dead fish outside of San Diego, California. The fish was estimated to be 9 to 10 feet in length, which was much smaller than the one recovered in La Jolla in August.

The proximity of these strandings has reignited discussions about the oarfish's mythical reputation as a predictor of natural disasters.

Mysterious deep-sea ‘doomsday fish’ found washed up on California beach - They are often referred to as ‘doomsday fish’ because of their mythical reputation as earthquake predictors