ICYMI: Weird Fanged Creature Found On The Beach In Texas
We can all agree, there is a lot that has yet to be discovered in the ocean. Every so often, us land mammals get a glimpse into the secret world under the sea. After Hurricane Harvey swept over Texas, a series of animals and sea creatures were displaced. One Texan woman, Preeti Desai was walking on the beach when she found a creature affected by the hurricane. However, this was no ordinary creature, this was something a little scarier.
The decaying creature Preeti stumbled on had fangs and looked at though it was prehistoric. Like anyone living in 2017, she decided to take a picture of the animal and ask the people on Twitter to name the creature. The tweet stated “Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?”
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
Thanks to the power of the internet, the tweet made its rounds! She said that she wanted to post the images on Twitter because she knows a lot of scientists use the social media platform. She stated to the BBC that “I follow a lot of scientists and researchers. There’s such a great community of these folks that are very helpful, especially when it comes to answering questions about the world or identifying animals and plants.”
I'd agree, could be some sort of eel; but not a moray, given it appears to have had pectoral fins. OR aquatic xenomorph...
— Dr. Solomon David (@SolomonRDavid) September 7, 2017
According to the BBC, she received an answer from “biologist and eel specialist Dr. Kenneth Tighe. The scientist believes that the decaying sea animal was a fang tooth snake-eel.
These creatures are known for their long, slender teeth. Typically, the fang tooth snake-eel will live in 100 feet or more of water in the Atlantic Ocean. Being found on land is a pretty far distance from where the sea animal lives!
The remnant of skin coloration, the body and head shape, the teeth and the shape of the jaw they are in & @Frable has seen a bunch.
— Adam P. Summers (@Fishguy_FHL) September 7, 2017
Dr. Tighe noted that “all three of these species occur off Texas and have large fang-like teeth.” Since there was a lot of flooding with the hurricane, the poor creature probably was whisked away by the tide. Once the water receded again, the fang tooth snake-eel was stuck on the sand.
Another mystery solved again, thanks to Twitter!
Sarah is a Hufflepuff living in NYC. When she is not traveling or talking to random animals, she is working as a script writer. Tweet her at @lumpyspacederp
