Story highlights "To see and touch the longest species of bony fish was amazing," educator says

An oarfish washes ashore on Catalina Island off the Los Angeles coast

Oarfish prefer the abyss of the open ocean and are rarely sighted

Los Angeles (CNN) Annie MacAulay heard of the legendary deep sea monster for 20 years and then she finally saw it: an oarfish so long that it spanned the length of about three people.

An oarfish isn't necessarily a pleasant-looking animal. In fact, it may inspire dread in some.

But its mind-boggling size indeed resembles an oar belonging to a galley ship. The giant fish is said to have inspired sailors' tales of sea serpents.

This week's discovery is between 14 and 17 feet long, MacAulay estimates. They are rarely seen because they prefer to slither in the deep, open ocean.

It was by accident that MacAulay happened upon the dead oarfish, which had washed ashore on one of Los Angeles' coastal isles, Catalina Island. She discovered the fish Monday while taking kids on an educational kayaking trip off the island shores, she told CNN.

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