'Like on another planet': Weird large fish washes ashore in California

A strange, odd-looking fish washed ashore in California, leaving passersby and visitors shocked. The large grey creature caught everyone's attention as it appeared to have come from "another planet". Initially, park visitors who were watching the water near a California jetty thought that there were sharks underneath as several gray-coloured fish started gathering. They called Sonoma County Regional Parks and informed them about the supposed "sharks" in Doran Regional Park in Bodega Bay. Park officials released a statement in a September 10 Facebook post, informing about the presence of the sea animals. However, when the rangers came, they noticed that the creatures were not sharks, but in fact, some other creature. Also Read: Humans have injured 80% of whale sharks in THIS popular tourist waters

A rare sighting on the coast of California

Officials said in the post that the animals were "sunfish, a type of open-water (or ‘pelagic’) fish." The fish sighting was first reported by the Press Democrat, which also sent photos to Marianne Nyegaard, a New Zealand-based researcher. Marianne confirmed that the fish was Mola tecta. This fish was identified as a new species in 2017. “This is a very rare sighting for our coast,” officials said. This fish is often confused for the Mola mola", park officials added. "This past weekend brought beautiful weather — and unexpected visitors to Doran Regional Park. Rangers responded to visitor reports of sharks swimming near the jetty, but the animals were quickly identified as sunfish, a type of open-water (or "pelagic") fish," Sonoma County Regional Parks' official wrote in a Facebook post. Also Read: Sea predator with 'large eyes' fished out for the first time in the Philippines

One of the fish died and beached near the jetty. The photo was clicked by Stefan Kiesbye, who told The Press Democrat. "It was so enormous and so weird and gorgeous. It’s like suddenly you’re on another planet.” Meanwhile, the park wrote, "Sadly, one of the sunfish didn’t survive and is now beached near the jetty. Rangers have notified local wildlife agencies, and nature will now take over, returning nutrients into the ecosystem." The park also shared photos of the dead fish.