Posted on 02/16/2016 7:53:04 AM PST by Red Badger
Speculation: The mystery sea creature with razor sharp teeth has been confusing people =============================================================================================================
The image has divided social media with some claiming it is a large hairtail, a long, slender fish found in tropical seas, while others suggest it has been photoshopped
With the body of a legless crocodile and the head of a dolphin, this strange sea creature looks more like something out of medieval myth than a real animal.
It was photographed after washing ashore on the banks of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales in Australia.
Ethan Tipper snapped an image of the creature before posting it online to see if anyone could identify it.
The creature has a long, slender body with scales and a tail like a crocodile with no legs, a head shaped like a dolphin's and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
The image has divided social media with some claiming it is a large hairtail, a long, slender fish found in tropical seas, while others suggest it has been photoshopped.
But Australian Museum fish collector Mark McGrouther told Daily Mail Australia he suspects it is a pike eel, native to deep waters on the east coast of Australia.
Read more: Bizarre "alien of the deep" goblin shark with fleshy snout and nail-like teeth found off Australian coast
He said: "This is the first time I have ever seen one of them in the flesh.
I suspect it was caught and discarded by fisherman who got more than they bargained for when they tried to reel it in."
(Excerpt) Read more at mirror.co.uk ...
“The largehead hairtail (also beltfish), Trichiurus lepturus, is a member of the cutlassfish family, Trichiuridae. It is a long, slender fish found throughout the tropical and temperate oceans of the world. The Atlantic, East Pacific and Northwest Pacific populations are also known as Atlantic cutlassfish, Pacific cutlassfish and Japanese cutlassfish, respectively.
“Largehead hairtails can grow to 2.34 m (7.7 ft) in length, although most only are 1 m (3.3 ft). The largest recorded weight is 5 kg (11 lb) and the oldest recorded age is 15 years. They prefer coastal regions and sometimes enter estuaries. They are found at depths of 0 to 589 m (0 to 1,932 ft) with most records between 100 and 350 m (330 and 1,150 ft).”
It’s a ringer for Pike Eels pictured on Google but larger. Nasty looking critter!
Justa deada.
Is that guy on the left picking lice?
Looks like an alligator gar to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_gar
That’s a North American freshwater fish, we have around here....................
I know. Wonder what it’s doing in Australia?
Trying to escape higher taxes or Globull Warming, er, Climate Change..................
I don’t see a pillow on its head...................
This yummy looking thing is the remains of a basking shark:
ow I remember that album I should order it again.
you know that I think chicks use that for boob shots on plenty of fish.com... and I’m sure you guys do for other photos
Saltwater croc with the legs chewed off?
Is that lake connected to the sea via a bay and river?
Even in the “before” that is a darned big Yellow Perch!
When animals die and decay, they often change so much that it’s difficult to realize what they used to be. I’m guessing it is either a known fish or a gator that has it’s limbs folded underneath.
a basking shark?
He needed more sunscreen........................
No ‘gators in Australia, deformed or otherwise................
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