I spotted this on The Daily Mail UK before I left for my trip, but didn’t have the opportunity to post about it till today. And it just so happens that..it’s been identified! Read on to find out what exactly it is!(:
Unidentified 13ft-long sea monster with horns washes up on beach in Spain and has marine biologists stumped
Spanish marine biologists mystified by the creature that was spotted dead in the shallows by a woman on the beach at Villaricos
Puzzled marine official Paco Toledano said: ‘We’ve certainly never seen anything like this around here before’
With its horns, long white body and slithery form, it looks like a mythical beast, But this four-metre long horned creature is only too real – as the stench from its decomposing flesh proved. The mysterious sea creature was washed ashore in Villaricos, Spain – and tests are being done on the carcass to determine what it is.
Is it a Loch Ness? A water dinosaur? Or a sea dragon? These are some of the guesses made by people when Spain found a mysterious ‘horned’ fish decomposing at a beach.
Well, speculate no more as this mysterious sea monster has been identified!
GrindTV reports that the identity of the mysterious skeleton that was found swept ashore in Spain has emerged — it’s a shark. This according to three shark experts, and contrary to guesses by some that it was an oarfish, among other crazy guesses that included the Loch Ness monster and a sea dragon.
Loch Ness Monster
“That is definitely a shark skeleton,” said Florida State University ichthyologist Dean Grubbs, who is an expert on the biology of fish species, especially sharks. He told NBC News, “The elements toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin supports. The ‘horns’ are the scapulocoracoids, which support the pectoral fins.”
Sea Dragon
Dr. Chris Lowe of the Cal State Long Beach Sharklab concurs with Grubbs’ assessment, telling GrindTV Outdoor, “I tend to agree with Dean on this one. The lower elements do look like elasmobranch [shark] vertebrae. Probably some type of shark.” Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research George Burgess, agreed with Grubbs, too, saying, “It’s a shark skeleton, species unknown without better study.”
Ah well, what did you expect right? Anyway, it really doesn’t look like a shark’s skeleton at all actually. Based on what the shark experts say – they don’t seem to know either. Mm, the mysteries of the sea eh?
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