A juvenile serpent, otherwise known as a rarely seen oarfish, washed up at Aramoana at the weekend and Dr Allan was there when it was discovered by beach-goer Isaac Williams.
It was something even the most experienced of marine scientists rarely encountered, she said.
"Isaac was fossicking around in the water and came across it. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was an oarfish.
"It was awesome."
The greatly elongated, pelagic lampriform fish was 3.6m long, and while that may seem large, it was just a juvenile.
They generally lived between 200m and 1000m below the surface, feeding on zooplankton, and were rarely seen on the surface.
Occasionally they became beached after storms or lingered on the surface when sick or dying, making them a probable source of many sea serpent tales in the past.
While finding one was rare, finding one alive was even rarer, she said.
"It was still alive but it was clearly distressed and dying.
"We tried to put it back out in the water to see if it would swim off, but it just floated on the surface. Apparently that’s what they do when they are sick or dying."
Unfortunately the oarfish was found again later, further down the beach, broken in two.
She said her only regret was not keeping it for study or display at a museum.
"I’m sort of kicking myself for not grabbing it.
"There’s only been a handful of reported sightings around New Zealand, including one here in 2015. They’re really rare.
"It was quite exciting to see. Right place, right time, eh?"
