Mumbai, April 18: After washing ashore on a US beach, the sharp-toothed remains of what appeared to be "an alien" astonished beachgoers. People were puzzled by the mysterious sea creature that Brandy Artall photographed and uploaded on the Bolivar Beachcombers Facebook group with the help of her friend Patricia Ducote.

The enormous specimen, discovered on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas, sparked a flurry of wild theories on social media from people, from sea urchin to extraterrestrial ruins to a kraken corpse. According to Facebook user Karolyn Willingham Matson, "it's the stuff nightmares are made of."

A user named Crystal Lynch remarked, "That's a big pile of nope, is what that is.” While Lisa Russell Golab exclaimed, "Those teeth". "I don't know, but I definitely wouldn't touch that thing without gloves," Irene Hauptman Hommert said. Alien-Looking Creature ‘Gooseneck Barnacles’ Washes Up on Bennar Beach in North Wales; Netizens Call It ‘Shadow Monster From Stranger Things’ (View Viral Photo). 

However, Coastal Fisheries' Science Director, Mark Fisher, claims that the photograph likely depicts the gills and gill arches of a fish "that someone probably caught and filleted."

The gills, which are connected to the bone gill arches, are the feathery components. The pharyngeal teeth are the spikey parts in the top middle, he explained. Further, experts from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department concurred.

The gills, which are connected to the bone gill arches, are the feathery components. The pharyngeal teeth are the spikey pieces at the top middle, according to an official of TPWD.

"I am unable to identify the species, but a sizable sport fish is probably what it is”, he added.

It was something less terrifying than a sea monster, according to Jace Tunnell, director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Watch: Strange 'Alien-Like' Creature Spotted In Sydney Streets After Heavy Rainfall, Biologists Left Puzzled!

Tunnell told San Antonio Express News, "I saw this a few days ago and thought of fish gills. After a little more investigation, they appear to be the gills and throat of a large fish, probably a redfish."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2023 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).