Horned ‘Sea Monster’ Is Spain’s ‘Montauk Monster’ [Update, Not An Oarfish]

A horned “sea monster” that washed ashore at Luis Siret Beach in Villaricos, Spain earlier this month reminds us of the “Montauk monster,” but we have to admit the Spanish sea beast is a bit more… interesting and weird.

The horned sea monster in Spain doesn’t have a catchy name yet, but when it comes to looking scary and mythical, it has the Montauk monster beat.

The creature’s remains were “buried by sand,” but American translations of Spanish news reports don’t say if any attempts were made to retrieve some of the remaining DNA for testing or if officials just gave up and disposed of the thing.

Civil Protection coordinator Maria Sanchez reveals another reason testing of the mysterious horned sea monster may not have been pursued:

“A lady found one part, and we helped her retrieve the rest… We have no idea what it was. It really stank, as it was in the advanced stages of decomposition.”

Guesses as to the creature’s identity have ranged from several species of shark to an oarfish, a long deepwater sea-dweller that can range from 10 feet up to over 30. Oarfish have only recently been observed at their natural depth, and experts believe that the inspiration for old maritime myths about sea serpents stemmed from sightings of oarfish.

But an expert on the matter, Florida State University ichthyologist Dean Grubbs, explains that the mysterious horned sea monster is not very mysterious at all — he says:

“That is definitely a shark skeleton… 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.”

What does Spain’s horned sea creature look like to you?