A Bizarre “alien-like” creature with “human-looking teeth” washed up on a beach in Australia, stunning onlookers, and baffling experts.
The strange sea creature has confused locals after washing up on Bondi beach, with few able to agree on what it is.
Shocked beachgoers discovered the bizarre “alien-like” animal among washed-up debris on the famous Sydney beach. Drew Lambert was with a friend when they stumbled across the bloated animal with “human-like lips.”
Lambert posted a photo and video of the animal to a local Facebook group, hoping others would be able to help identify it.
‘I just looked at it… what the hell, does this fish have human lips on it? It looked like it was puckering up for a kiss,’ Lambert told Yahoo News.
At first, Lambert thought the creature was a shark because it had a tail and skin, but he quickly dismissed that idea because it did not have a dorsal fin.
“I thought [but] the mouth is on the underside. And it’s got grey leather-like skin like a shark. But it doesn’t have that dorsal fin at the top like a shark, so I was really confused,” he said.
Most locals believed the animal was a bloated stingray and said the curled tail and organ swelling occurred after it had died, giving it an enlarged appearance.
“It’s Bondi; even the rays have botox,” one comment joked.
One shrewd user probably got the right ID, writing, “It’s an Australian numbfish. They produce electricity when touched. Crazy fact.’”
Sea Life Sydney Aquarium supervisor Laetitia Hannan confirmed the animal was indeed a numbfish, also known as a coffin ray.
Hannan said the numbfish, a type of elasmobranch, is known to bite off more than it can chew and may have eaten something too big for itself, which could have contributed to its engorged size.
She also confirmed the bloated appearance was indeed due to the decomposition process, which fills animals full of gas.
The coffin ray is a species of electric ray endemic to Australia.
The species can produce a powerful electric shock reaching 200 volts for attack or defense purposes.
Coffin rays are commonly found in waters shallower than 200 feet.
The nocturnal animal buries itself in sand and mud bottoms of shallow bays and estuaries.
A bloated Stingray? Really? Since when do Stingrays have human lips and teeth?