<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5271531a6bb3f7e17d56d90b-885-663/oarfish-roundworm-2.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="oarfish roundworm" width="480" /><p class="source">Sonia Fernandez</p><p class="caption">The small white threadlike organism is a nematode, or roundworm, found in the sample of <keyword id="1904474" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oarfish">oarfish</keyword> tissue dissected by researchers. </p></div><p></p></div>An <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/18-foot-oarfish-caught-off-catalina-island-2013-10">18-foot-long oarfish</a> found dead in Southern <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword> was filled with parasites, <a href="http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=3151" target="_blank">according to researchers at UC Santa Barbara</a> who dissected the serpent-like <keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword> last Thursday.</p>
<p>Around two dozen larval tapeworms, two young roundworms, and little pieces of an adult spiny-headed worm were among the specimens found in a small tissue sample of the intestines. Scientists only had a foot of intestine, so it's likely that the whole organ hosted many more parasites, possibly hundreds, zoology professor Armand Kuris <a href="http://vimeo.com/78018048" target="_blank">said in a video interview</a>. </p>
<p>"Our findings say that these are actually majorly parasites fish," Kuris <a href="http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=3151" target="_blank">said in a statement</a>. </p>
<p>The stage of a parasite's life cycle inside its host is important because it helps biologists determine what the oarfish eats and, in turn, what <keyword id="6371668" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="animals">animals</keyword> eat oarfish.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=3151" target="_blank">The researchers explain</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The larval tapeworms, which hadn't yet developed their telltale segments, for instance, will stay in their larval stage indefinitely until the oarfish gets eaten by a shark, whereupon they resume their maturation inside the shark. The spiny-headed worm, on the other hand, was an adult, indicating that the oarfish ate the organism - probably krill or some deep-water crustacean - that hosted its juvenile form.</p>
<p>The oarfish, believed to be the world's longest bony fish, is not well-studied since it lives in deep waters. Scientists only recently captured the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-foot-oarfish-seen-off-coast-of-mexico-2013-6" target="_blank">first-ever footage of an oarfish swimming</a> in the Gulf of Mexico, however these fish are rarely seen dead or alive.</p>
<p>On Oct. 13, the well-preserved carcass of an 18-foot-long oarfish - the largest reported in 17 years - was found off Catalina Island. </p>
<p>A second oarfish measuring 14-feet was found on Oct. 18 when it washed up on a Southern California beach. The smaller fish was also in good condition, which suggests it died on the day it was found, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-killed-the-giant-oarfish-in-california-2013-10">according to Russ Vetter</a>, a director at the <a href="http://swfsc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank">Southwest Fisheries Science Center</a> who led the dissection of that fish. Aside from some cookiecutter shark wounds, this fish seemed to be perfectly healthy when it died. It was <a href="http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/west/2013/10/california_sea_serpent_was_egg_carrying_female" target="_blank">even carrying eggs that were about to be released</a>. </p>
<p>It remains a mystery what killed both fish, but the deaths are probably linked Vetter said. He thinks that an unusual ocean current may have brought the animals close to shore. The fish - believed to be poor swimmers - may have been unable to escape the unfamiliar shallow waters.</p>
<p>The parasite specimens from the larger fish will be sent away for further analysis.</p>

18-Foot Long Oarfish Was Filled With Parasites

<p class="full"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52653cb9ecad048f1dbaa3a2-1200-924/ap187391793199%20(1).jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="oarfish" width="800" /><p class="source">AP Photo/Mark Bussey</p></div><p></p></div></span></p>
<p>On Friday, a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-giant-oarfish-oceanside-20131021,0,6062738.story" target="_blank">14-foot oarfish</a> washed up on the beach near Oceanside, <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>, The Los Angeles Times reports.</p>
<p>This was the second time in one week that the rare deep-water <keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword> was found dead. The carcass of an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/18-foot-oarfish-caught-off-catalina-island-2013-10" target="_blank">18-foot oarfish</a> was discovered off of Catalina Island six days earlier. It took more than a dozen people to hold the silvery fish for a photo.</p>
<p>The latest discovery, a 14-foot-oarfish was collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after being sliced up into sections, according to the LA Times.</p>
<p>Oarfish are the longest known bony fish in the world, and they are believed to grow to more than 50 feet long. Not much is known about their habits and life cycle because they live at great depths - up to 3,000 feet from the surface - making them difficult to study.</p>
<p>They likely come to the surface when they are injured or dying, <a href="http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/speciesid/fish_page/fish82a.html" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. The cause of death in both events is not clear.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists captured the first video of a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-foot-oarfish-seen-off-coast-of-mexico-2013-6">healthy oarfish</a> swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.</p>

A New 14-Foot Oarfish Was Found In California 

<p class="full"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52653cb9ecad048f1dbaa3a2-1200-924/ap187391793199%20(1).jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="oarfish" width="800" /><p class="source">AP Photo/Mark Bussey</p></div><p></p></div></span></p>
<p>On Friday, a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-giant-oarfish-oceanside-20131021,0,6062738.story" target="_blank">14-foot oarfish</a> washed up on the beach near Oceanside, <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>, The Los Angeles Times reports.</p>
<p>This was the second time in one week that the rare deep-water <keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword> was found dead. The carcass of an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/18-foot-oarfish-caught-off-catalina-island-2013-10" target="_blank">18-foot oarfish</a> was discovered off of Catalina Island six days earlier. It took more than a dozen people to hold the silvery fish for a photo.</p>
<p>The latest discovery was collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after being sliced up into sections, according to the LA Times.</p>
<p>Oarfish are the longest known bony fish in the world, and they are believed to grow to more than 50 feet long. Not much is known about their habits and life cycle because they live at great depths - up to 3,000 feet from the surface - making them difficult to study.</p>
<p>They likely come to the surface when they are injured or dying, <a href="http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/speciesid/fish_page/fish82a.html" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. The cause of death in both events is not clear.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists captured the first video of a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-foot-oarfish-seen-off-coast-of-mexico-2013-6">healthy oarfish</a> swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.</p>

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5265412deab8ea3925ccecea-1200-924/oarfish.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="oarfish" width="480" /><p class="source">AP Photo/Mark Bussey</p><p class="caption">A 14-foot oarfish washed ashore in Southern California on Oct. 18.</p></div><p></p></div>We may never know for certain what killed two giant oarfish in Southern California within a week of each other. But one scientist suggests that an unusual <keyword id="53745" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ocean">ocean</keyword> current may have brought the deep-water creatures toward shore, where they got trapped in shallow waters and died.</p>
<p>Oar<keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword>, the world's longest bony fish, are rarely seen dead or alive. They live in deep ocean waters, up to 3,000 feet below the surface, and are difficult to study for that reason. Only recently have scientists captured <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-foot-oarfish-seen-off-coast-of-mexico-2013-6">video of an oarfish</a> swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>The carcass of a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/14-foot-oarfish-caught-in-oceanside-california-2013-10">14-foot-long oarfish</a> washed ashore in Oceanside, Calif., on Oct. 18,  just five days after a dead <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/18-foot-oarfish-caught-off-catalina-island-2013-10">18-foot-long oarfish</a> - among the biggest seen in two decades - was discovered off Catalina Island. </p>
<p>The timing of the two events is very strange, says Russ Vetter, a director at the <a href="http://swfsc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank">Southwest Fisheries Science Center</a>.</p>
<p>The smaller fish was cut up into four large pieces, each around 60 pounds, before it was carted off in a pickup truck by Vetter's team to be dissected in the lab.</p>
<p>The fish seemed to be perfectly healthy when it died, says Vetter. It did not appear to be malnourished, diseased, or have any marks or indications of outside trauma from things like fishing gear or a boat propeller.</p>
<p>Because of the fish's apparent health, the cause of death may be due to an unusual ocean current that brought the fish close to shore, he said. Oarfish are not thought be strong swimmers. To swim they use a small fin that runs along the whole length of the body instead of moving their entire body. The fish may have not been strong enough to escape the unfamiliar shallow waters it was trapped in.</p>
<p>"Compared to tuna or salmon, the meat is very watery," said Vetter, who was examining an oarfish for the first time in his life. "The meat was also very white meat, another sign that it is not a strong swimmer." Meat that is made of muscles that are exercised often has a darker color.</p>
<p>This fish probably died on the day it was found because it was in such good condition.</p>
<p>DNA samples were taken from the fish to determine its closest living relatives. The gills, stomach, and ovaries will be studied by researchers in California, while the eyes went to an expert in Australia. "The whole fish got used," said Vetter.</p>
<p><span>Below are some images taken from Monday's examination at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword> Center. </span></p>
<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5266edc56bb3f7fc5b05924e-427-640/oafish 4.jpeg" border="0" alt="oafish 4" /><p class="source">Phil Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p>
<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5266edd8ecad04955b83008f-427-640/oarfish 5.jpeg" border="0" alt="oarfish 5" /><p class="source">Phil Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.</p></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p>
<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5266eda3eab8ea9922f2845a-640-427/oarfish%203.jpeg" border="0" alt="oarfish 3" width="800" /><p class="source">Phil Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.</p></div><p></p></div></span></p>
<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5266ed8aeab8eab422f2845c-640-427/oarfish.jpeg" border="0" alt="oarfish" width="800" /><p class="source">Phil Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.</p></div><p></p></div></span></p>

Expert Reveals What May Have Killed Those Giant Oarfish

<p class="full"><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Catalina Island Marine Institute" title_caption="An 18-foot-long oarfish was found on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Toyon Bay off the Catalina Island." class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/525d77a169bedd861bdf33d8-960/oarfish1920.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/525d77a169bedd861bdf33d8-1200-706/oarfish1920.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="oarfish1920" width="800" /></a><p class="source">Catalina Island Marine Institute</p><p class="caption">An 18-foot-long oarfish was found on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Toyon Bay off the Catalina Island.</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Instructors at the Catalina Marine Institute (CIMI) found the carcass of a rare, 18-foot-long oarfish on Sunday afternoon. It was discovered in Toyon Bay on Catalina Island off the coast of <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>.</p>
<p>The <keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword> appeared to have died from natural causes and its body was "almost perfectly intact," according a news release from CIMI. This is likely because it hadn't been dead long.</p>
<p>The oarfish is the longest known bony fish in the world, though it is rarely observed, especially alive.</p>
<p>In June, scientists released a video of an apparently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-foot-oarfish-seen-off-coast-of-mexico-2013-6">healthy 8-foot long oarfish</a> swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the first time the animal had ever been caught on video alive in its natural habitat. </p>
<p>The oarfish lives in deep waters (they can dive down to over 3,000 feet), which makes them hard to study.</p>
<p>In a news realease, the longest-serving CIMI employee said: "In 32 years here, I have never seen anything like this!"</p>
<p>It took 15 adults to haul the silvery fish out of the water and up to the beach. The CIMI staff hasn't decided what to do with the dead fish yet, <a href="http://ktla.com/2013/10/14/18-foot-oarfish-found-on-catalina-amazes-scientists-campers/#axzz2hkK1qM83" target="_blank">according KTLA in Los Angeles</a>, but they have been in touch with at least two museums in southern California.</p>

A Rare, 18-Foot Oarfish Was Found Off The California Coast

<p>An eight-foot-long, rarely observed "oarfish" has been seen by a remote vessel off the coast of Mexico, according to a report published <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.12144/abstract;jsessionid=0E0232712366A1FA21DFC0B22C27DF23.d01t02" target="_blank">June 5 in the Journal of Fish and Biology</a>.</p>
<p><span>Its scientific name is </span><span>Regalecus glesne and i<span>t is the longest known bony <keyword id="6355507" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fish">fish</keyword> in the world. Scientists estimate this one to be 2.55 meters (~8 feet), and said the creature's blunt tail appeared to have lost some flesh. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Some estimates claim that it can grow to 15 meters (~49 ft), but the longest recorded specimens are only 7 to 8 meters long (a piddly 26 feet!).</span></span></p>
<p>Scientists know little about the fish, which is thought to live in relatively deep water (between 300 and 1000 feet below the surface). Most of what they do know comes from sick or dead specimens found floating near the surface of the <keyword id="53745" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ocean">ocean</keyword> or washed up on beaches. </p>
<p>A rather unexpected <a href="http://www.serpentproject.com/">partnership with offshore oil drillers</a> has allowed ocean scientists to pilot remote vehicles in waters normally too deep or far from shore for most divers or explorers. </p>
<p>Here is a video from the paper (the good views start around the five minute mark):</p>
<p><object width="620" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-yIWfCAC5y0?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-yIWfCAC5y0?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="620" /></object></p>
<p>Here's another image of an oarfish, taken of US servicemen holding a 23-foot (7.0 m) <span class="mw-redirect">Giant Oarfish</span>, found washed up on the shore near San Diego, California in 1996:</p>
<p class="float_right"><div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51b109deecad04a455000001-1716-609/mekongnaga%202.jpg?maxX=620" border="0" alt="US Navy Officers Holding giant oarfish off the coast of San Diego" width="620" /><p class="source">Author unknown (via Wikimedia Commons)</p></div></div></p>
<p><object width="620" height="349"></object></p>

A Rare, Giant Fish Was Caught On Video For The First Time

<p>Just how big are the biggest creatures in the ocean? Researchers from around the US and Canada have been trying to figure that out, and they've emerged with some illuminating results.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/715/">paper published Tuesday</a> in the journal PeerJ, the researchers analyzed data on the body sizes of some of the largest animals in the sea. This handy chart, made to accompany the research, helps put it all into perspective. (If you have trouble reading the graphic, <a href="http://static.peerj.com/infographic/2015/marine-megafauna/Marine_megafauna_Infographic.pdf">click here to see the full-sized version</a> at PeerJ.)</p>
<p><img class="full" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b56f166bb3f7a55bf525b0-1200-924/marine_megafauna_infographic-1.png" border="0" alt="Marine_megafauna_Infographic_2">In each row, the human is scaled for comparison with the sea creatures described. The ocean's most impressive giants are shown in the top row - next to the 108-foot blue whale, the diver is like an insect:</img></p>
<p><img class="full" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b581bdecad04925d55d9a6-1200-522/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 3.33.51 pm.png" border="0" alt="Blue Whale">The project started as a way to correct some misconceptions about the size of certain sea creatures. "Several years ago I noticed that people kept staying that giant squids reached 60 feet in length, which is amazingly long," said Craig McClain, assistant director of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, N.C., and the paper's lead author, in a statement. "When I started actually looking at the data, I found that that estimate was actually quite unrealistic."</img></p>
<p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b68efeeab8ea6b15328031-1200-858/blue whale.jpg" border="0" alt="blue whale" /></p>
<p>McClain and his team settled on a list of animals whose sizes are commonly misreported. Once the researchers got to work, they used all available sources of data for their analyses.</p>
<p>"This included finding data through literature searches via Google Scholar and Web of <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword>, fisheries data and governmental reports, stranding data, museum records and specimens, online auctions and sales, and personal communications with scientists conducting research on the organisms examined here," the authors wrote.</p>
<p>As it turns out, the largest known giant squid was about 40 feet long - not 60. Other species the researchers investigated included the lion's mane jellyfish (120 feet), whale shark (61.68 feet), the oarfish (26.25 feet), the Japanese spider crab (12.14 feet), and the giant clam (4.5 feet).</p>
<p>Many of these creatures are rare, or at least rarely observed - which may be one reason their sizes are so often misreported.</p>
<p>But they do surface occasionally. In October 2013, for instance, several elusive oarfish washed up on the California coast, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/14-foot-oarfish-caught-in-oceanside-california-2013-10">making headlines</a>. Although not quite 26 feet long, they still packed a substantial punch with one measuring in at 18 feet and the other a respectable 14 feet.</p>
<p><img class="full" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/525d77a169bedd861bdf33d8-1200-706/oarfish1920.jpg" border="0" alt="oarfish1920">And last year, scientists dissected the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-found-only-the-second-intact-colossal-squid--heres-what-it-looks-like-2014-9">only intact colossal squid specimen</a> - a different, slightly smaller species than the giant squid - ever to be hauled from the ocean. That specimen, pulled from the Ross Sea off the coast of Antarctica, measured in at about 11.5 feet, although the researchers in the size study found that the largest ever observed was nearly 14 feet long.</img></p>
<p>Here's how those giant sea animals and their relatives actually stack up against humans:</p>
<p><img class="full" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b58b29eab8eaa86bcc0f4a-1200-546/screen%20shot%202015-01-13%20at%204.15.25%20pm.png" border="0" alt="giant squid, giant octopus, oarfish and human size comparison. ">Having more information about an animal's body size can help scientists make better inferences about its biology, the authors of the size study write.</img></p>
<p>For example, they explain, scientists believe the giant squid's body size may be decreasing due to the warming climate and overfishing by humans. Knowing its largest historical size is important for future comparisons.</p>

This Amazing Chart Shows How Big The Biggest Animals In The Ocean Get

<p>Just how big are the biggest creatures in the ocean? Researchers from around the US and Canada have been trying to figure that out, and they've emerged with some illuminating results.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/715/">paper published Tuesday</a> in the journal PeerJ, the researchers analyzed data on the body sizes of some of the largest animals in the sea. This handy chart, made to accompany the research, helps put it all into perspective. (If you have trouble reading the graphic, <a href="http://static.peerj.com/infographic/2015/marine-megafauna/Marine_megafauna_Infographic.pdf">click here to see the full-sized version</a> at PeerJ.)</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Matthew Maxwell and Pablo Alvarez Vinagre, StudioAM" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b56f166bb3f7a55bf525b0-960/marine_megafauna_infographic-1.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b56f166bb3f7a55bf525b0-1200-924/marine_megafauna_infographic-1.png" border="0" alt="Marine_megafauna_Infographic_2" /></a><p class="source"><span>Matthew Maxwell and Pablo Alvarez Vinagre, StudioAM</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>In each row, the human is scaled for comparison with the sea creatures described. The ocean's most impressive giants are shown in the top row - next to the 108-foot blue whale, the diver is like an insect:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b581bdecad04925d55d9a6-1200-522/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 3.33.51 pm.png" border="0" alt="Blue Whale"><p class="source"><span>Matthew Maxwell and Pablo Alvarez Vinagre, StudioAM</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The project started as a way to correct some misconceptions about the size of certain sea creatures. "Several years ago I noticed that people kept staying that giant squids reached 60 feet in length, which is amazingly long," said Craig McClain, assistant director of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, N.C., and the paper's lead author, in a statement. "When I started actually looking at the data, I found that that estimate was actually quite unrealistic."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/51d456d269bedd9319000014-1200-750/5884633459_a1407bb432_o.jpg" border="0" alt="blue whale underwater"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danojefferson/5884633459/sizes/o/in/photostream/">Flickr/bookemspooky</a></span></p><p class="caption">The blue whale can get up to 108 feet long.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>McClain and his team settled on a list of animals whose sizes are commonly misreported. Once the researchers got to work, they used all available sources of data for their analyses.</p>
<p>"This included finding data through literature searches via Google Scholar and Web of <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword>, fisheries data and governmental reports, stranding data, museum records and specimens, online auctions and sales, and personal communications with scientists conducting research on the organisms examined here," the authors wrote.</p>
<p>As it turns out, the largest known giant squid was about 40 feet long - not 60. Other species the researchers investigated included the lion's mane jellyfish (120 feet), whale shark (61.68 feet), the oarfish (26.25 feet), the Japanese spider crab (12.14 feet), and the giant clam (4.5 feet).</p>
<p>Many of these creatures are rare, or at least rarely observed - which may be one reason their sizes are so often misreported.</p>
<p>But they do surface occasionally. In October 2013, for instance, several elusive oarfish washed up on the California coast, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/14-foot-oarfish-caught-in-oceanside-california-2013-10">making headlines</a>. Although not quite 26 feet long, they still packed a substantial punch with one measuring in at 18 feet and the other a respectable 14 feet.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/525d77a169bedd861bdf33d8-1200-706/oarfish1920.jpg" border="0" alt="oarfish1920"><p class="source"><span>Catalina Island Marine Institute</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>And last year, scientists dissected the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-found-only-the-second-intact-colossal-squid--heres-what-it-looks-like-2014-9">only intact colossal squid specimen</a> - a different, slightly smaller species than the giant squid - ever to be hauled from the ocean. That specimen, pulled from the Ross Sea off the coast of Antarctica, measured in at about 11.5 feet, although the researchers in the size study found that the largest ever observed was nearly 14 feet long.</p>
<p>Here's how those giant sea animals and their relatives actually stack up against humans:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b58b29eab8eaa86bcc0f4a-1200-546/screen%20shot%202015-01-13%20at%204.15.25%20pm.png" border="0" alt="giant squid, giant octopus, oarfish and human size comparison. "><p class="source"><span><a href="http://static.peerj.com/infographic/2015/marine-megafauna/Marine_megafauna_Infographic.pdf">PeerJ</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Having more information about an animal's body size can help scientists make better inferences about its biology, the authors of the size study write.</p>
<p>For example, they explain, scientists believe the giant squid's body size may be decreasing due to the warming climate and overfishing by humans. Knowing its largest historical size is important for future comparisons.</p>

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/556fdacb69beddf62f748a97-1200-924/rtr4yplo-1.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR4YPLO"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido</span></p><p class="caption">A masked student clashes with riot police during a protest against the government to demand changes and end to the profiteering in the education system in Valparaiso, June 3, 2015. </p></img></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>1.</strong> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Chuck Blazer, the </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ex-FIFA official who is widely believed to be an FBI informant</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/chuck-blazer-admits-1998-2010-world-cup-bribery-2015-6">admitted to facilitating or accepting bribes for two different World Cups</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">a 2013 hearing with federal prosecutors</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>2.</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/death-toll-jumps-to-at-least-65-in-china-river-cruise-capsizing-2015-6">At least 65 people have been confirmed dead</a> in Monday's capsizing of a cruise ship in China's Yangtze river. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>3.</strong> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-fresh-cases-700-schools-closed-in-south-korea-mers-outbreak-2015-6">More than 700 schools closed on Thursday in South Korea</a> over fears of a <span>Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak after 35 people have become infected.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>4.</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-just-had-major-battle-with-separatists-2015-6">Ukraine's military and Russian-backed rebels fought their first major battle in nearly three months</a> on Wednesday after separatists purportedly launched an attack on the <span>town of Maryinka.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>5.</strong> After meeting with senior EU officials Wednesday night, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-tsipras-sees-greek-deal-but-differences-remain-after-eu-talks-2015-6">Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said a deal with its creditors to unlock bailout money was "within sight"</a> and that Greece would make its International Monetary Fund payment on Friday.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>6.</strong> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/us/more-labs-are-likely-to-have-mistakenly-received-anthrax-samples-military-says.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=second-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0">At least 51 labs in 17 US states and three foreign countries mistakenly received live anthrax samples</a> and the figure is expected to grow as an investigation by the Defence Department continues.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>7.</strong> Preliminary findings suggest a </span><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/a-corroded-pipe-caused-101000-gallons-of-oil-to-spill-into-water-off-the-california-coast-2015-6">corroded pipe caused 101,000 gallons of oil to spill into water off the California coast</a> last month.</span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>8.</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-india-us-clear-two-ground-breaking-defense-projects-as-carter-holds-talks-2015-6">India and the US have agreed to cooperate on major defence projects</a> amid concerns over China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean.</span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>9. </strong>South Korea on Wednesday <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-south-korea-test-fires-missile-that-can-strike-all-of-the-north-2015-6">test-launched a new ballistic missile that can strike all parts of North Korea</a>.</span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>10. </strong>The <a href="businesses%20and%20governments%20skimping%20on%20investment.">OECD on Wednesday lowered its global growth forecast in 2015 from 4.0% to 3.1% </a>and in 2016 from<span> 4.3% to 3.8%, partly due to "tepid" investment by businesses and government.</span></span></p><p><strong>And finally...</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-mysterious-oarfish-of-the-deep-washes-up-on-california-island-2015-6">A rare oarfish measuring 4.1 meters (13.5 feet) long, washed up dead on Catalina Island in California</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-after-black-widow-spider-bite-poison-2015-4">Here's what happens when you get bitten by a black widow</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5wdGFndDqN2zqp8TnWPghhDHfhDWYD_r" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; 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