DiscoveryNetworks YouTube channel has recently posted a video of a healthy oarfish shot in the mesopelgic zone (depths between 200m-1000m or 650′-3300′). The video was shot in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the SERPENT project during a survey using an ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle). The scene was captured in August of 2008 at a depth of around 460m (approximately 1500′).

While researchers are still trying to estimate the size of the oarfish in the video, Mark Benfield, of LSU’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, thinks that it’s somewhere in the range of 5-10m (16-33′), based on comparisons to an oil rig pipe seen in the video. Benfield also says that oarfish seen near the surface may be the origin of sea serpent myths.