A mysterious sea creature with a spiked tail washed dead on a beach.
Marilyn Inglis, 72, came across the “alien-like” animal while taking a stroll on the sand in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
She has since noted its striking resemblance to another creature sighted along the coast of Dorset. Both animals have a translucent head and at least two fins of varying sizes with a long tail. Each of the bodies are also dark grey in colour – but the one found in Sussex appears to have spikes running from its head all the way down its spine.
Speaking to the Mirror, Marilyn said: “You don’t see too many things like that – we just stood there looking at it for a while. It appeared alien-like. I’ve shown the pictures to loads of people but no one seemed to know what it could be.
“Even if it had been eaten a bit, it was still quite big – over two feet long. It didn’t look boney, but was quite muscly, and didn’t look like it had an alligator tail.
“It’s hard to know how long it had been dead for, and whether it had been bloated after being in the water for so long. When I showed it to people who go fishing no one seemed to have an idea of what it is, but they didn’t see it in real life, which was more spooky than just seeing the photo.”
Marilyn, who is from London, was visiting her friend when she made the baffling discovery. She added: “If it had been April Fool’s Day then I would think someone had created it, but it looked too real. If we weren’t so nervous we may have got it up the beach somehow, but you never know what you’re dealing with.
“I hope someone ended up taking it away and investigating it.”
The RSPCA was left equally stumped by the creature, saying it was unable to identify it. However, researchers at the Marine Conservation Society believed it could be a species of ray fish.
After being shown pictures of the creature, a spokesperson said: “Our experts believe this is a thornback ray that has been fished and had its wings removed.”
Previously, Reddit users suggested that the creature found in Dorset could be a stingray “without any wings”.
Giving her thoughts on the animal in Sussex being a ray, Marilyn said: “I was hoping it would be something more unusual. I still wouldn’t eat it!”
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