Horned Sea Monster An Oarfish? No, Says Ichthyologist

What was this horned sea monster that washed ashore at Luis Siret Beach in Villaricos, Spain earlier this month? Others said that it was an oarfish – the giant sea serpent. Others said that it was some-kind of a mutant dragon.

Preliminary analysis of the carcass suggested that the 13-foot-long (4-meter-long) carcass came from a “species of fish.”

But according to Florida State University ichthyologist Dean Grubbs, the horned sea monster is a shark. “That is definitely a shark skeleton,” Grubbs told NBC News in an email. “The elements toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin supports. The ‘horns’ are the scapulocoracoids which support the pectoral fins.”

Here is the photo: