A terrifying, fish was discovered washed up on a beach after hurricane Harvey. Scientists believe it to be prehistoric.
A passer-by found the animal in Texas City. Preeti Desai, a science communicator for the Audubon Society, first thought it was a sea lamprey but when she looked more carefully, she changed her mind.
As Desai said to Earth Tough News, the encounter was "unexpected."
"When I saw the mouth I thought no way was it a lamprey. It looked like something that came from deeper waters."
Completely shocked by this strange creature, Desai took to Twitter to ask for answers. And, as usual, Twitter didn't disappoint her.
Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City, TX. #wildlifeid pic.twitter.com/9IUuuL65qh
— Preeti Desai🌿 (@preetalina) September 6, 2017
Dragonfish, blacktail moray and ribbon fish were contenders. However, there were also several more "interesting" suggestions.
For instance, one thought the fish could make for a nice pet.
ITS A MYSTERY ALIEN MONSTER SCIENTISTS ARE BAFFLED HIDE YOUR KIDS HIDE YOUR WIFE AHHHHHHHH
— Dr. David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) September 7, 2017
Another suggested a mysterious alien monster.
Hard to tell given position and decomposition, but teeth and body shape makes me think some kind of eel. @SolomonRDavid?
— Andrew Thaler (@DrAndrewThaler) September 6, 2017
Many people thought the fish bared more than a resemblance to the monsters in Tremors.
It's that thing from Tremors. Don't make any noise or sudden moves pic.twitter.com/MOSQVeDY7J
— RUSSIANS PEED ON ME (@BarryNMooch) September 14, 2017
But Preeti finally got an ID on the fish.
According to Dr. Kenneth Tighe, an eel specialist and biologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the fish is a fangtooth snake-eel, also known as the "tusky" eel. Maybe you've heard its Latin name, Aplatophis chauliodus?
The fangtooth snake-eel is discovered in the Atlantic around the US and Cuba. They usually lurk in water 30 to 90 meters (100 to 300 feet) deep, to make burrows in the seabed. They sometimes make their way to the shallower ground. However, in this particular case, it is possible that Hurricane Harvey had something to do with bringing the fish to shore.
There is also a possibility it belongs to the garden and conger eel family – the Congridae. Nevertheless, Tighe claims this is less likely since the eel's large teeth don't fit the description of the majority of species in the Congridae family.
According to Tighe:
"It might be Bathyuroconger vicinus or Xenomystax congroides. All three of these species occur off Texas and have large fang-like teeth. Too bad you can't clearly see the tip of the tail. That would differentiate between the ophichthid and the congrids."
Meanwhile, post-Irma, a much cuter animal has been discovered washed up in Sarasota Bay, in Florida. Luckily, both manatees were returned safely to sea.
References: Earth Touch News, IFLScience
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