Giant oarfish

Giant oarfish
	A taxidermied specimen of Regalecus glesne in Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lampriformes
Family:	Regalecidae
Genus:	Regalecus
Species:	R. glesne
Binomial name
	Regalecus glesne; Ascanius, 1772
Synonyms
	Synonyms Cephalepis octomaculatus Rafinesque, 1810 ; Cepola gladius Walbaum, 1792 ; Gymnetrus ascanii Shaw, 1803 ; Gymnetrus banksii Valenciennes, 1835 ; Gymnetrus capensis Valenciennes, 1835 ; Gymnetrus gladius Valenciennes, 1835 ; Gymnetrus grillii Lindroth, 1798 ; Gymnetrus hawkenii Bloch, 1795 ; Gymnetrus longiradiatus Risso, 1820 ; Gymnetrus telum Valenciennes, 1835 ; Regalecus banksii (Valenciennes, 1835) ; Regalecus caudatus Zugmayer, 1914 ; Regalecus jonesii Newman, 1860 ; Regalecus masterii De Vis, 1891 ; Regalecus pacificus Haast, 1878 ; Regalecus remipes Brünnich, 1788;

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, ribbonfish, and streamer fish.^[3]

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.^[4] Its coloration is silver and blue with spots of dark pigmentation, and its fins are crimson.^[5] Its physical characteristics and undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings.^[3]

^ Cite error: The named reference iucn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Helfman, Gene S. (1 June 2015). "Secrets of a sea serpent revealed". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 98 (6): 1723–1726. doi:10.1007/s10641-015-0380-x. ISSN 1573-5133. S2CID 17197827.
^ R., Roberts, Tyson (2012). Systematics, biology, and distribution of the species of the oceanic Oarfish genus Regalecus Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Regalecidae. Publications Scientifiques du Muséum. ISBN 978-2-85653-677-3. OCLC 835964768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Smith, Margaret M. (1986). Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 403. ISBN 978-3-540-16851-5.

[iucn-1] Cite error: The named reference iucn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FishBase-2] Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-3] Helfman, Gene S. (1 June 2015). "Secrets of a sea serpent revealed". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 98 (6): 1723–1726. doi:10.1007/s10641-015-0380-x. ISSN 1573-5133. S2CID 17197827.

[:52-4] R., Roberts, Tyson (2012). Systematics, biology, and distribution of the species of the oceanic Oarfish genus Regalecus Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Regalecidae. Publications Scientifiques du Muséum. ISBN 978-2-85653-677-3. OCLC 835964768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[:62-5] Smith, Margaret M. (1986). Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 403. ISBN 978-3-540-16851-5.

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Giant oarfish

A taxidermied specimen of Regalecus glesne in Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lampriformes
Family:	Regalecidae
Genus:	Regalecus
Species:	R. glesne
Binomial name
*Regalecus glesne* Ascanius, 1772
Synonyms ^[2]
Synonyms Cephalepis octomaculatus Rafinesque, 1810 Cepola gladius Walbaum, 1792 Gymnetrus ascanii Shaw, 1803 Gymnetrus banksii Valenciennes, 1835 Gymnetrus capensis Valenciennes, 1835 Gymnetrus gladius Valenciennes, 1835 Gymnetrus grillii Lindroth, 1798 Gymnetrus hawkenii Bloch, 1795 Gymnetrus longiradiatus Risso, 1820 Gymnetrus telum Valenciennes, 1835 Regalecus banksii (Valenciennes, 1835) Regalecus caudatus Zugmayer, 1914 Regalecus jonesii Newman, 1860 Regalecus masterii De Vis, 1891 Regalecus pacificus Haast, 1878 Regalecus remipes Brünnich, 1788