Giant oarfish

　　巨型皇带鱼

　　Looking very much like an enormous sea serpent, the giant oarfish is extremely flat and undulates through the water like a wide silver ribbon.

　　巨型皇带鱼看起来非常像一条庞大的海中蛇怪，它身体非常扁平，在水中摇摆起来像一条宽宽的银丝带。

　　Its long pelvic fins look like oars and it has a distinctive red crest. But the most remarkable thing about the oarfish is its extreme length. Measured at up to 17m (56 ft), it is the world's longest bony fish.

　　皇带鱼长长的腹鳍看起来像船桨一般，它还有独特的红色头冠。但是皇带鱼最神奇的地方在于它超长的长度。皇带鱼以其17米的长度独冠世界上最长的多骨鱼。

　　Despite its massive size, the giant oarfish remains quite mysterious. It lives in the deep ocean alongside other giant species. It's not clear why deep-dwelling species are often so big: low temperatures, high pressure, a lack of currents or a scarcity of food have all been put forward as explanations.

　　巨型皇带鱼虽然长度赫然，但是却一直保持神秘。它们和其他巨型物种一同深居海底。深居物种为何体型都如此庞大的原因尚不可知：低温，高压，缺乏水流还是食物的匮乏，人们逐一猜测其中的原因。

　　Because of its deep-dwelling habits, the giant oarfish is a rare sight. In recent years, unmanned submersibles have managed to film it in its natural environment, but very few people have seen a healthy one in the flesh.

　　因为巨型皇带鱼隐居海底，很少有人能看到它的踪迹。最近几年，无人潜水艇曾成功地在自然环境下拍摄到这种生物，但是很少有人亲眼看到无恙的巨型皇带鱼的身影。

　　Giant oarfish only appear at the surface when dead or injured. Where one washes in to shore, it is usually photographed being held aloft by large groups of people to show its relative size.

　　In June 2015, Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California hosted its third giant oarfish in as many years when a 5.2m (17 ft) specimen washed ashore.

　　巨型皇带鱼只会在死后或者受伤时才会浮现在水面上。当一只巨型皇带鱼被冲上岸时，通常一大群人喜欢合力抱起鱼照相，以衬托它的长度。2015年6月，加利福尼亚州海岸外的圣卡塔丽娜岛上发现了该岛多年以来第三条被冲上岸的巨型皇带鱼。