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…
ST IVES, CORNWALL, ENGLAND – MARCH 31: (STRICTLY EMBARGOED FROM ALL USE UNTIL TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 00:00:01 BST. Getty Images provides access to this publicly distributed image for editorial use only and is not the copyright owner. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No Sales – No Commercial Use) In this handout image provided by Samsung Galaxy S8, Landscape Photographer of the Year Matthew Cattell has captured some of the greatest British views as voted for by the public to mark the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 with a view of the beach on March 31, 2017 in St Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Each of the breathtaking pictures was shot using the smartphone to showcase the groundbreaking ‘Infinity Display’ screen and incredible camera functionality, which is available for pre-order until 19th April and launch in UK on 28th April. (Photo by Matthew Cattell/Getty Images for Samsung Galaxy S8)
Handout / HandoutWe 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?”
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.”
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!
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
