TEXAS CITY, TX (WIS) - A photographer has left Twitter baffled by series of photos she took of a bloated and decayed sea creature that washed upon a Texas shore after Hurricane Harvey.
But what is it, asked Preeti Desai.
"Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City, TX. #wildlifeid," she tweeted on Sept. 6.
It's jagged teeth and long, lumpy body leaves one confused - and slightly frightened. But have no fear, marine biologists identified the creature.
But, naturally, there were a few uneducated guesses to the creature's identity.
It's likely a fangtooth snake-eel, also known as a "tusky" eel, according to biologist and eel specialist Dr. Kenneth Tighe with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Tighe also told EarthTouch News Network that it could also be one of three eels that are known to frequent the shores of Texas that have fanged teeth.
Either way, we thank it kindly to stay in the grimy deep where it belongs.
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