Oar fish, whale sharks and giant squids: Check out these close encounters with weird fish and other sea creatures

A rarely-seen sea serpent was discovered Monday on a beach on the western end of Santa Catalina Island. The island harbor patrol found a 17-foot dead oarfish floating in the waters off Sandy Beach.

What do you do when you find a sea serpent? You pose with it, of course.

You probably shouldn't touch it.

Diver and underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta will discuss his 2010 attempt to photograph the coelacanth, a rare fish.

Most fisherman would consider themselves lucky to catch one elusive opah fish in their lives, but one recreational fishing boat landed three in one day off the coast of Southern California.

This mystery fish washed up in Shore Acres and could be a sturgeon, which is an endangered, prehistoric fish which survived the Ice Age.

Oct. 17, 2012: A giant eyeball from a mysterious sea creature was found by a man walking the beach in Pompano Beach, Fla. Wildlife officials said it likely came from a swordfish.

Sept. 9, 2010: Fisherman Raphael Biagini proudly shows off his giant 'goldfish.' Biagini says he caught the 30-pound orange koi carp in a lake in the south of France.

This is an X-ray image of a live fish trapped inside the lung of a 12-year-old boy who was playing a fish swallowing game with his friends on the banks of a river in India. The boy survived a 45-minute emergency operation, but the fish was not so lucky.

Oct. 10, 1977: A monster sturgeon, weighing 507 pounds and 12 feet long, was caught by the British trawler Domeioa, in the North Sea off the Dogger Bank.

Feb. 27, 2013: A Palestinian policeman looks at thousands of rays that were washed up on Gaza beach.

Aug. 4, 2009: Jaw-dropping photos of a 40-foot whale shark. The massive fish was caught on camera by daring diver Fiona Ayerst swimming off the South African coast. Its massive open mouth is capable of swallowing a person whole, but luckily for this diver these sharks are gentle giants feeding only on tiny plankton.

Feb. 7, 2012: Pakistani fishermen use cranes to pull the 40-foot carcass of a whale shark, which was found in the Arabian Sea, toward a dock at Karachi Fish Harbor.

Calamari anyone? A giant squid with tentacles as long as 16 feet washes up on New Zealand beach.

Dec 13, 2012: American marine photographer Jason Bradley produced a series of detailed images, of mainly dead creatures, to give a glimpse into our planets largest habitat which is still largely unexplored. Pictured: A viper fish.