The decomposed body of an unusual faceless creature with fangs has washed up on a Texas beach following Hurricane Harvey.
Preeti Desai of the Audubon Society posted the mysterious images of the creature on social media asking the science community to help identify the fanged animal.
"Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City, TX. #wildlifeid," Ms Desai wrote.
The thick, serpent-like body and sharp teeth had social media stumped with some suggesting it looked like a creature out of a horror movie.
After many comments suggesting it was some species of eel, a biologist suggested it was a fangtooth snake-eel, according to the BBC.
Dr Kenneth Tighe, a biologist and eel specialist, told the BBC it could be a conger or garden eel as "all three of these species occur off Texas and have large fang-like teeth".
Ms Desai told the BBC she was assessing the damage of Hurricane Harvey when she stumbled upon the eel.
"It was completely unexpected, it's not something that you'd typically see on a beach. I thought it could be something from the deep sea that might have washed on to shore," she said.
Fangtooth eels originate off the coast of the East Atlantic and Mediterranean. The eels can grow as long as 120cm and feed of small fish or crustaceans.
