THE bizarre discovery of a mystery beast's remains on a NSW beach has everyone talking.

The corpse, found on Diggers Beach near Coffs Harbour, has set the web world alight with theories of what the creature might be and how it washed ashore.

The animal was found by surfers on Father’s Day, but only now have the photos surfaced, the Coffs Coast Advocate reports.



The discovery revived memories of the infamous "Montauk monster" that was discovered in 2008.

One of the local men who came across the animal, Peter Atkinson, told the paper:"It was found on the high water mark and we contacted National Parks, but it appears the animal was washed back out to sea on the next tide.



He confirmed the photos were taken on a mobile phone.

Many claim it’s a type of monkey, others saying it could be a South American sloth.

Experts at Taronga Zoo brought in on the case said today the creature appeared to be a brush-tailed possum.



A spokeswoman said the zoo's vet team and senior curators agreed it was badly decomposed possum.



The spokeswoman said the animal's identity was made slightly difficult because the possum appeared to be a black furred variety "which occurs in some limited North Eastern NSW areas as well as Wilsons promontory in Victoria.''



"The lack of fur around the paws and face is possibly due to dermatitis or may have come about through burn injuries,'' the spokeswoman said.





Originally published as Bizarre beast washed up on NSW beach