‘What nightmares are made of.’ Creepy, toothy thing seen on Texas beach is identified

A bizarre finding on a Texas beach left many unsettled, intrigued, and scratching their heads wondering just what they were looking at — but experts have an answer.

Patricia Ducote shared a picture of the strange discovery in an April 13 Facebook post, after it was spotted at Bolivar Peninsula, a 27-mile stretch of coastline northeast of Galveston.

The grayish mass is symmetrical, with frills running along the outside of it, while the rest is covered in molar-like masses and sharper teeth toward the top, the picture shows.

“I don’t know what that is, but I can guarantee that my dog would roll in it,” one person commented.

“It’s what nightmares are made of,” said another.

But while many were simply disturbed by the sight, some thought the mysterious mass looked familiar. This is no sea creature or alien, but simply remains of a fish that had been caught and filleted, they said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department experts agreed.

“The feathery parts are the gills, which are attached to the bony gill arches. The spikey bits in the top middle are the pharyngeal teeth,” Lerrin Johnson, of TPWD, told the Houston Chronicle. “I cannot identify the species, but it is most likely a large sport fish.”

It’s not clear how the fish’s remains ended up on the beach.

This story was originally published April 16, 2023 at 10:21 AM with the headline "‘What nightmares are made of.’ Creepy, toothy thing seen on Texas beach is identified."