A mysterious sea monster washed ashore and left passersby puzzled as to what it could be.
The giant 7-foot ocean creature appeared on the shore at Gearhart beach in Oregon, causing quite the stir among locals who rushed to inspect it.
Baffled by the sight, people could not figure out what the species the fish was. By its appearance, it was clear that this was a sunfish, but the type was still uncertain.
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Seaside Aquarium, which is local to the beach, got to the bottom of the case, posting to their Facebook page: “It wasn’t long before news of this fish reached Mariann Nyegaard, a researcher based in New Zealand.
“The photographs she saw indicated that this might not be a run of the mill ocean sunfish (Mola mola) but a different species that she was very familiar with, the hoodwinker sunfish (Mola tecta). It was through her research that she discovered and described this new species of sunfish, which she published in 2017.”
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The new species of sunfish was first discovered in 2014 and it is a rare sighting to spot the 2000-pound sea creature.
The aquarium went on to state: “Marianne Nyegaard reached out to the Seaside Aquarium to see if they would be willing to take samples for genetics. Staff quickly responded, took more photographs, measurements, and tissue samples.
“Through photographs, Marianne confirmed that it was a hoodwinker and that this may be the largest specimen ever sampled.
“It is a remarkable fish and the aquarium encourages people to go see it for themselves.”
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Excited users replied to the post, with one person commenting: “Mola Mola are my FAVORITE fish! So cool to see this sunfish. Please, everyone go see this marvelous creature.”
A second added: “Wow. That's cool. I've never seen a sunfish let alone a hoodwinker.”
A third person was less impressed and more creeped out, saying: “Reason 199,999,789 that I will not swim in the ocean…………. Could you even imagine that thing coming up by you?! It’s a no for me…”
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Officially called Mola tecta, the fish is known as hoodwinker because it has been able to blend in with other species of sunfish for a long time before being recently discovered.
Sunfish get their name because they are spotted sunbathing at the water surface, which is thought to help warm them up after a deep dive.
The fish in question is currently still laying on the beach where it will probably remain for a few weeks, which the aquarium say is because its tough skin makes it difficult for scavengers to break.
If you’re in the area, go check it out for yourself.