giant oarfish

Open encyclopedia reference

The giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, and ribbonfish.

R. glesne is the world's longest ray-finned fish. Its shape is ribbon-like, narrow laterally, with a dorsal fin along its entire length, stubby pectoral fins, and long, oar-shaped pelvic fins, from which its common name is derived. Its coloration is silver and blue with spots of dark pigmentation, and its fins are crimson. Its physical characteristics and undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings. In 2016, the TV show River Monsters concluded that the most likely origin of the sea serpent myth is the oarfish; host Jeremy Wade was filmed diving with two living, healthy giant oarfish in the Mediterranean Sea.

Wikipedia contributors, Giant oarfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:03.953712+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Regalecus glesne Ascanius, 1772

Name authority

Ascanius, 1772

Common name

giant oarfish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Lampriformes

Family

Regalecidae

Genus

Regalecus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderLampriformes
11. familyRegalecidae Gill, 1884
12. genusRegalecus Ascanius, 1772
13. speciesRegalecus glesne Ascanius, 1772

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 2 records assigned to Regalecidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Ascanius, P. (1772). Icones rerum naturalium, ou figures enluminées d’histoire naturelle du Nord. Copenhagen, 1767-1806, 5 parts, 36 pp., 50 pls. Pt. 1 (1867), 22 pp., Pls. 1–10; 2 (1772), 8 pp., Pls. 11–20; 3 (1775), 6 pp., Pls. 21–30; 4 (1777), 6 pp., Pls. 31–40; 5 (1805), 8 pp., Pls. 41–50. [Part 1 with 2nd ed. (1772) and 3rd ed. (1806); parts 3 and 4 with 2nd ed. (1806). Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4RPRL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.