Miyerkules, Mayo 8, 2013

STUNNED beachgoers in New Zealand stumbled over what looks like the carcass of a mysterious marine animal.


The bizarre-looking corpse washed ashore last week, fuelling speculation that it is the remains of a prehistoric sea monster washed up ashore from the deep, Sun Live reports. The 9-metre-long corpse has basic flippers and a gaping jaw with long, sharp teeth.
A video posted to YouTube showed the 9-metre long corpse on Pukehina Beach in the Bay of Plenty. Calling it a “strange marine creature”, the narrator added: “can anyone help us identify it?”.
The video sparked a flurry of speculation that the carcass was some prehistoric ‘sea monster’.
Discovery News said the latest “monster” carcass find in New Zealand was part of a long history of discoveries of mysterious sea creatures. The bizarre, rotting corpses are often mistakenly identified as sea monsters or dinosaurs, or even just mysterious “blobsters”.

In 2003, the bizarre 12-metre, 13-tonne
 “Chilean blob” shocked the world when it washed ashore on Los Muermos beach, BBC News reports. Puzzled marine biologists speculated the blob could be a type of giant squid, but DNA tests on the blubbery mass eventually determined it was the remains of a sperm whale.In 1896, a 2-metre tall sea creature corpse washed ashore in St Augustine, Florida. Scientists eventually determined it was a new type of giant octopus.
Marine mammal expert Anton Van Heldon examined the latest ‘monster’ carcass in New Zealand and believes it is a killer whale, based on the fin structure. Killer whales, or orcas, are sometimes spotted in the Bay of Plenty.