Mysterious Sea Creature Appears on Australian Beach

Creatures wash up on beaches around the world all of the time but the recently photographed animal on Make Macquarie in New South Wales has even marine experts confused. At first glance, the long, thin creature appears a strange cross between dolphin and crocodile; its mouth lined with razor sharp teeth.

Like clockwork, detractors claimed the footage was edited while one expert, Mark McGrouther of the Australian Fish Museum, said it was a pike eel. Pike eels are native to Australia’s east coast and reach just under two metres in length. McGrouther admits he’d never before seen one in the flesh because these nocturnal creatures and tough to catch, living at depths of 100 metres.

Pike eel or not, the mysterious sea creature is just the latest in a string of strange animals to wash up on beaches around the world. Last year in the coastal waters near Lake Macquarie, a group of fisherman pulled a Goblin shark from the waters. Another elusive and rarely seen animal, the Goblin shark lives in waters as deep as 1200 metres. A fisherman in Victoria, Australia, also got a shock when he pulled a frilled shark from Lakes Entrance, a terrifying looking creature with six pairs of frill-like gills.

These rarely seen animals would’ve been classed as cryptids by previous generations, demonstrating how many areas of the world still produce rarely seen and almost mythical creatures.