Fact Check: No, Photo Doesn't Show 2 Men Holding 'Doomsday Fish'

Madison Dapcevich

10 November 2024 at 9:00 am·6-min read

Claim:

A photo shared to social media in September and October 2024 authentically showed two men holding a so-called "doomsday fish."

Rating:

On Oct. 23, 2024, a Reddit user posted a photo that purportedly showed two Australian men posing after catching a "doomsday fish," also known as an oarfish.

The image had amassed more than 102,000 upvotes as of this writing and had been commented on more than 4,900 times.

Two fishermen in Australia have caught a bizarre "doomsday fish"
byu/Eternal__Void ininterestingasfuck

Similar posts appeared elsewhere online in October, and across social media, including on X, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. One particularly popular X post had garnered more than 32.4 million views as of this writing.

The picture shows the two men holding a long, narrow, silver fish with bulging eyes that, if held vertically, would dwarf them in size.

Some social media users even speculated that the "bizarre looking" fish's capture could indicate an impending catastrophe.

In short, though the so-called "doomsday fish" is a genuine species of fish, this photograph does not show one. Rather, it shows one of its relatives, the ribbonfish. Therefore, we have rated this claim as miscaptioned.

Origin of the Photo

The image first appeared to be shared to Facebook on Sept. 20, 2024, by Fishing Australia TV, a page that is affiliated with the Australian television station, 9 News.

Fishing Australia TV credited a man named Curtis Peterson with catching the beast. He works for a fishing charter company called Tiwi Island Adventures. Snopes has contacted Peterson and Tiwi Island Adventures for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.

(Fishing Australia TV/Facebook)

The above Fishing Australia TV Facebook post asked viewers to "name this crazy creature," and some people replied guessing that it was a "doomsday fish," also known as an oarfish.

Does the Photo Show a 'Doomsday Fish'?

Gabriel Afonso, an ichthyologist — a marine biologist who studies fish — at the Virginia Insitute of Marine Science (VIMS) identified the fish as a ribbonfish — not a "doomsday fish" — of the scientific genus Trachipterus, which Fishes of Australia said includes at least six species.

"[Ribbonfish] have big eyes and one of the most extreme jaw protrusions," Afonso said, pointing to the large and dramatic jaw shown in pictures and a video of a ribbonfish in the below X post.

Another surprise visitor to the San Juan islands today! A giant oarfish washed up on Friday Harbor in near perfect condition. Check out those jaws!! pic.twitter.com/62DFnATfgY
— Dr. Karly E. Cohen (@Karly_Cohen) September 24, 2023

Australia is home to at least one known species of ribbonfish, the southern ribbonfish. This deepwater species is typically found at depths of around 3,281 feet (1,000 meters) and can reach lengths of up to 7.2 feet (2.2 meters).

What Is a 'Doomsday Fish'?

Washington D.C.-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy stated that the real name of the "doomsday fish" is an oarfish.

As its Latin name — Regalecus glesne — suggests, the oarfish belongs to the genus Regalecus – not Trachipterus. This krill-eating fish gets its "doomsday" nickname from its reputation for being "harbingers of bad news, particularly disasters or destruction," Ocean Conservancy explained.

Human encounters with oarfish are rare because they are found in the deep sea at depths down to 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), according to the ocean conservation nonprofit OCEANA. If one is seen closer to the surface, it's likely that the fish is probably sick, dying, or disoriented.

The Florida Museum wrote that the oarfish's ribbon-like body can reach up to 36 feet (11 meters) long, inspiring sea monster myths and legends.

Oarfish have characteristics that do not align with those seen in the photo shared to Facebook, like a red dorsal fin that runs along the length of its body and a rounded caudal tip shown in images published by the Florida Museum.

Below are two images also depicting two different oarfishes. The top shows an 1828 depiction illustrated by French zoologist Georges Cuvier. The second shows an oarfish found on the San Diego, California, shore in 1996, which measured 23 feet (7 meters) long and 300 pounds (136 kilograms).

(Public Domain)

Snopes also reached out to Fishing Australia TV for more information on where and when the fish in the photo was caught. We will update this article if we receive a response.

Sources:

- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yIWfCAC5y0&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

---. https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=04WgD2NZYODiYJW4&v=y5E9QkyB27k&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

Anglers Reel in Mysterious "Doomsday Fish." 25 Sept. 2024, https://www.9news.com.au/national/oarfish-doomsday-fish-tiwi-islands/a4f997bd-8729-475f-be4e-a5c759d9ca8a.

"Fishermen Catch Terrifying 'doomsday Fish' in Rare Sighting of Deep-Sea Creature with Bizarre Head Shape." UNILAD, 24 Oct. 2024, https://www.unilad.com/news/animals/australia-doomsday-fish-sighting-145591-20241024.

Fishesofaustralia.net.au. (2021). Trachipterus. [online] Available at: https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/genus/1527 [Accessed 5 Nov. 2024].

Gabriel Vinícius Felix Afonso. https://scholar.google.com.br/citations?user=o_0VIP8AAAAJ&hl=pt-BR. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

Martin, Jennifer M., and Eric J. Hilton. "

A Taxonomic Review of the Family Trachipteridae (Acanthomorpha: Lampridiformes), with an Emphasis on Taxa Distributed in the Western Pacific Ocean

." Zootaxa, vol. 5039, no. 3, Sept. 2021, pp. 301–51. www.biotaxa.org, https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5039.3.1.

"Massive 'Doomsday Fish' Caught In Australia: Omen Of An Earthquake?" Times Now, 25 Oct. 2024, https://www.timesnownews.com/world/australia/massive-doomsday-fish-caught-in-australia-omen-of-an-earthquake-article-114563869.

"Oarfish." Oceana, https://oceana.org/marine-life/oarfish/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

Perez, Jennifer. "Why Are Oarfish Known as Doomsday Fish?" Ocean Conservancy, 8 Nov. 2023, https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2023/11/08/oarfish-known-doomsday-fish/.

Port Phillip Bay Taxonomy Toolkit. https://portphillipmarinelife.net.au/species/6325. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

"Regalecus Glesne." Discover Fishes, https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/regalecus-glesne/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

"---." Discover Fishes, https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/regalecus-glesne/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

TikTok - Make Your Day. https://www.tiktok.com/@dailymailau/video/7418448214426144018?lang=en. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

"Virginia Institute of Marine Science." Virginia Institute of Marine Science, https://www.vims.edu/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

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Origin of the Photo

Does the Photo Show a 'Doomsday Fish'?

What Is a 'Doomsday Fish'?

Sources:

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