Rare 'doomsday' fish found in La Jolla

Zoom in: Oarfish are the longest-living bony fish, growing up to 36 feet long; two oar-like pelvic fins give them their name.

• They shimmer in dark ocean waters at depths up to 3,300 feet and often swim or float vertically.

The intrigue: Legend has it that oarfish, also known as doomsday fish, are omens of natural disasters and earthquakes.

• This oarfish was found two days before a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Southern California on Monday.

Driving the news: A few marine researchers affiliated with UCSD were part of the group that found the dead fish and brought it to shore on a paddleboard.

• It will be added to the marine vertebrate collection at Scripps, one of the world's largest collections of deep-sea fish, for further study.

What's next: Scientists from the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps will perform a necropsy Friday to try to determine the cause of death.