In 2019, a gray mass was discovered off the coast of Santa Barbara, Coal Oil Point Reserve in southern California. Unfortunately, there were initially difficulties in identifying the creature. The only characteristic was the extraordinary size of the strange figure. After the images spread on social media, marine biologists came to the rescue. What was it really about?
600-pound creature washed ashore
A seven-foot-long, 600-pound creature that washes up on the beach cannot be ignored — especially by the staff at Southern California’s Coal Oil Point Reserve. At first they had no idea what it could be.
Well, that’s not entirely true. They recognized some similarities with other creatures, but frowned as they approached the thing. What was this sea creature and how did it end up on a California beach?
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At first they thought it was an ordinary sunfish
At first, experts at the Coal Oil Point Reserve thought it was a sunfish. The type of fish is after all one of the greatest freshness on earth. Some of them can even weigh up to 2000 pounds.
And while the gray mass might not be that far from a sunfish, some aspects weren’t what they envisioned. The creature was big enough to be a sunfish, but was it really?
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The reservoir is protected by a university
Coal Oil Point Reserve employees found the creature off the coast of Santa Barbara, California in 2019. The creature had already passed away, right at the feet of environmentalists who had made it their life’s work to study such creatures.
The reservoir was protected by the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is one of the best examples of coastal environments. Hopefully, researchers would soon have an idea what the animal was.
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It was a big, gray mass
The reservoir faced the Pacific Ocean, so there is a large amount of sea creatures, fauna and vegetation anyway. Researchers have no shortage of incredible animals to identify in the depths.
But what kind of fish could it be? The intern who spotted the animal said it just looked like a gray mass. This was true, at least until he and the other staff got closer to see the body.
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Jessica Nielsen’s opinion
Jessica Nielsen, a naturalist, told press at the University of California, Santa Barbara that she was shocked at first. Nothing like this had ever washed up in the reservoir. Unlike other animals, this one had strange characteristics that she couldn’t place.
In an interview, she also said: “This is definitely the most remarkable organism I’ve ever seen washed up. And after all, I’ve been working here for four whole years.” It seemed to be getting really mysterious.
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USBC biologists delved into the mystery
After posting the strange creature on the reserve’s Facebook page, they waited to see if anyone online might have an idea. Evolutionary biologist Thomas Turner showed interest in the mystery.
As an evolutionary biologist, he would surely have an answer to the big question, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he too was as speechless as Nielsen. He even brought his wife and son to see things for himself on the beach.
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A fish without a tail fin
During an interview with CNN in February 2019, Turner said, “It’s a very unusual fish, that’s for sure, because it doesn’t have a caudal fin. All of its teeth are fused together, so it kind of just has a round opening for a mouth.”
In addition, reference must also be made to the size of the animal. Turner signaled the incredible size by spreading his arms during the interview. He said the animal was definitely six feet long, just unbelievable.
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A common sunfish
With no tail fin, an impossibly large body, and 600 pounds — the Coal Oil Point Reserves research team concluded — the animal must actually be a large sunfish, also known as a mola-mola.
The team posted pictures of their find on iNauralist, a social media platform for environmentalists, to see if anyone else had any opinions. It was again confirmed it was a sunfish they had found.
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Ralph Foster had a different theory
All was not as it first seemed. A fish expert at the South Australian Museum, Ralph Foster, had a very different opinion and threw out the theory the team had put forward in California. Foster looked at the animal and said it wasn’t a normal sunfish.
He actually thought that this animal probably did not correspond to an already documented fish species. With this new thought, he turned to someone who probably knew the answer to the mystery.
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Marianne Nyegaard, a marine biologist
Unsure if his opinion was right, he decided to contact Marianne Nyegaard, a marine biologist. After writing her an e-mail and a letter with photos attached, he waited and hoped for a reply soon.
A hint at this point would have been extremely useful. Unfortunately, she wasn’t particularly moved by the pictures and said that she didn’t have a solution to this problem either. The creature remained unidentified.
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She needed better pictures
Nyegaard did not give up directly on identifying the animal. She asked for better visual support to be sure of things. During an interview with CNN, she said, “The images just weren’t very clear. So I was reluctant.”
She now had a new task – she wanted to find out with Foster what creature was on the shore of the reservoir. So she turned to Neilsen and Turner for better, higher quality images.
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The fish was gone
Nielsen and Turner were more than willing to go back and snap some better photos so the scientists could form a better opinion. But then they encountered a new problem. When the two came to the beach.
the creature was no longer to be found. A few days had passed since the discovery and the tide had come and taken the creature back with it. But they wouldn’t give up that easily!
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They found the fish
The search was well structured – Neilsen and Turner started on opposite sides of the beach and approached the middle. Maybe they would find the animal there again, they had to try. And they were right!
Just a little way from where they originally found the animal lay the gray mass. Now they managed to take some better quality pictures and send them to the two scientists. With any luck, the pictures would help with the answer.
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They noticed something unusual
While taking the pictures, Nielsen and Turner noticed something about the mysterious creature. They saw something they hadn’t noticed before. They discovered some characteristics that could potentially be particularly helpful in the “case”.
Now all they had to do was forward the images to Foster and Nyegaard. It felt like they were about to have a breakthrough. What sea creature did they find? Soon they would know for sure.
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Nyegaard recognized the fish immediately
In 2019, Nielsen told the University of California, Santa Barbara website The Current, “It was really exciting to get the images because I might be able to help with this unusual discovery — that would be fascinating.”
The excitement was really unbelievable. As soon as the photos got into Nyegaard’s hands, the animal could be identified. Nyegaard told CNN that she almost fell out of her chair when she realized what the scientists found there.
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It was a Mola Tecta
After the second round of photos taken by Nielsen and Turner arrived, Nyegaard actually managed to identify the creature. Instead of a normal sunfish, it appeared to be a mola tecta, also known as a hoodwinker sunfish.
Interestingly, in 2017 it was Nyegaar herself who was allowed to determine the name and species of this fish. There are so many different sunfish species that it can sometimes be difficult to identify them exactly.
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Many species of sunfish
Sunfish were first discovered in 1758. At that time, however, it was thought that there was only one, ordinary sunfish, and there was no mention of the many species. This discovery was made later.
Only much later was a new species of sunfish discovered, namely in the southern hemisphere, off the coast of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries. Only Nyegaard himself decided to devote himself to the mysterious creatures.
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Hoodwinker fish do not typically come to the United States
During an interview with CNN, Nyegaard said: “The hoodwinker mostly goes unnoticed because nobody knows the difference. There is a long history of confusion within the sunfish family. This fish just manages to never be sighted.
It’s usually just mistaken for a mola mola, but it’s actually a mola teca.” At first, Nyegaard hadn’t thought of the mola teca, because it’s not normally found anywhere near the United States.
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Normal Occurrence
In an interview with The Guardian, Nyegaard explained: “I’ve only spotted the mola teca in cold water so far. It has to be said that it’s really extraordinary for this fish to suddenly approach California.”
She went on to explain which waters the Mola Texa actually likes to be in – definitely in the southern hemisphere. However, it’s not entirely unlikely that fish will also seek out new territories, it’s just exciting for the scientific community.
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Even more to know
Nyegaard told CNN, “The discovery of this species is actually the very first in America and indeed in the Northern Hemisphere… It’s obviously very exciting for a marine biologist.” Then, in an interview with The Current,
Nyegaard described her enthusiasm at being able to identify the fish: “Mola teca was only recently discovered and there is still so much to learn about this species. I am so glad that we were able to help researchers identify the animal.”