A mysterious marine creature that washed up on Bondi Beach has baffled people, with few able to agree on what it is.
A freaky “alien creature from the deep” has left locals mystified
Surprising beachgoers noticed the bizarre ‘alien-like’ creature amid garbage on Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Drew Lambert and a companion discovered the bloated creature with ‘human-like lips.’
A mysterious, alien-like creature has washed up on a beach on Bondi Beach and has left locals stunned
The strange creature appeared to have human-like lips, a curled tail and shark-like skin
Mr. Lambert uploaded a photograph and video of the animal to a local Facebook page in the hopes that others might be able to identify it.
‘I merely glanced at it… What the heck, does this fish’s mouth resemble that of a human? It seemed to be preparing for a kiss,’ Mr. Lambert told Yahoo News.
Mr. Lambert originally believed the creature to be a shark since it had a tail and skin, but he swiftly disproved this idea due to the absence of a dorsal fin.
“I believed [but] the mouth is on the bottom. And it’s got grey leather-like skin like a shark. But it lacks the dorsal fin seen on sharks, so I was quite baffled,’ he added.
The majority of locals believed that the animal was a deceased stingray whose curled tail and swollen organs gave it an enormous look.
One user said, “It’s Bondi, and even the stingrays have Botox.”
One astute user remarked, “This is an Australian numbfish.” They generate electricity upon contact. Strange fact.
Laetitia Hannan, supervisor at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, confirmed the animal was a numbfish or coffin ray.
According to Ms Hannan, the numbfish, a type of elasmobranch, is known to bite off more than it can chew and may have eaten something too large for itself, contributing to its engorged size.
She also confirmed that the bloated appearance was caused by the decomposition process that fills animals with gas.