is likely patterns made by the formation of layers of rock

From a menagerie of animals to an elaborate coffin, many incongruous objects have been 'spotted' on Mars.

Now a UFO hunter claims to have found carvings showing a running man and a snake, resembling etchings and cave paintings made by ancient man on Earth.

While he said that to dismiss the 'evidence' - presumably of aliens – is to 'turn your back on reasoning', the sighting is likely down to pareidolia, the phenomenon of seeing familiar shapes in objects.

A UFO hunter claims to have found carvings showing a running man and a snake (pictured), resembling etchings and cave paintings made by ancient man on Earth

UFO hunter Scott C Waring spotted the tantalising carvings on a Martian rock on 29 March while combing images taken by Nasa's Curiosity Rover.

The car-sized robot has been exploring the planet's Gale Crater since landing on 6 August 2012, assessing its geology and looking for signs of microbial life.

Mr Waring wrote on his blog, UFO Sightings Daily: 'One of the carvings depicts a running man. The other one shows a snake.

'I found a lots of similarities in this carving and ancient cave paintings here on Earth.'

Indeed, images of 2,000-year-old paintings on rocks in Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park bear some resemblance to the 'Martian running man', while zig-zag snakes scratched into rocks by the ancient pueblo people in Newspaper Rock State Historic Park, Ohio, look like the 'Martian snake'.

UFO hunter Scott C Waring spotted the tanatising carvings (carving circled and inset) on a Martian rock on 29 March, while combing images taken by Nasa's Curiosity Rover (shown above)

Images of 2,000-year-old paintings on rocks in Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park bear some resemblance to the 'Martian running man', while zig-zag snakes scratched into rocks by the ancient pueblo people in Newspaper Rock State Historic Park, Ohio, look like the 'Martian snake'

WHY PEOPLE SEE IMAGES IN ROCKS While carvings and 'animals' may have been spotted on Mars according to UFO hunters, scientists explained their presence with the mind trick, pareidolia. This is a psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimulus and is a form of apophenia - when people see patterns or connections in random, unconnected data. Human eyes can spot faces within their environment and it helps them recognise friends in a crowd, work out how fast a car is travelling, and see patterns. Scientists claim we also tend to use this ability to 'enrich our imagination' and recognise meaningful shapes, even if they're not there. 'It's usually some sort of animal, but occasionally even weirder objects such as automobile parts,' explained Seth Shostak, director of the Centre for Seti Research. 'Maybe they think there are cars on Mars.' 'Recognising a crab in a landscape filled with rocks is no more surprising - nor more significant - than seeing a winking face in a semi-colon followed by a parenthesis.' Advertisement

Mr Waring wrote the etchings on Mars look primitive but shouldn't be dismissed, presumably suggesting they were made by either artistic aliens or humans who have previously set foot on the red planet at some time.

'This is a photo from a government source and it's a non-biased object...a rover...that took it. It has nothing to hide, nor to gain.

'Therefore, to dismiss this evidence is to turn your back on reasoning,' he wrote.

However, there is a good chance the images are not etchings at all and are simply stratification - patterns made by the formation of layers of rock.

Last week, Mr Waring claimed to have spotted a petrified shark on Mars, which was once covered in a massive ocean, spanning almost half of the red planet's northern hemisphere.

The image was taken once again by Nasa's Curiosity Rover, using its Right B Navcam and shows a rocky Martian landscape.

'Last year Nasa announced that there were oceans on Mars and that it did look a lot like Earth in many ways,' he wrote in a blog post.

'I guess this petrified fish is proof of that. Look closely and you will see the tail fin and the fin ridge that starts at the lower back fin and moves all the way to the fishes [sic] stomach.

'I coloured the fish to make it easier on the eyes. The fish is also about half a meter long. About the size of a bass or small salmon. This also explains the three different boats we have found last year.'

While UFO hunters may claim they have found proof of aliens and animals having lived on Mars at some point, scientists have explained the presence of rocks that look like pictures or creatures as a trick of the mind called pareidolia.

Curiosity has been exploring the planet's Gale Crater since landing on 6 August 2012, assessing its geology and looking for signs of microbial life. This is the original image taken by the rover, including the 'carvings'

Mr Waring wrote the etchings on Mars look primitive but shouldn't be dismissed, presumably suggesting they were made by either aliens or humans who have previously set foot on the red planet at some time. This ancient pueblo rock art bears some resemblance to the alien 'artwork'

Seth Shostak, director of the Centre for Seti Research said it's the psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimulus.

It is a form of apophenia, which is when people see patterns or connections in random, unconnected data.

Human eyes can spot faces within their environment and it helps them recognise friends in a crowd, work out how fast a car is travelling, and see patterns.

Scientists claim we also tend to use this ability to 'enrich our imagination' and recognise meaningful shapes, even when they're not there.

'Those that send [images] to me are generally quite excited, as they claim that these frequently resemble something you wouldn't expect to find on the rusty, dusty surface of the red planet,' said Shostak.

'It's usually some sort of animal, but occasionally even weirder objects such as automobile parts. Maybe they think there are cars on Mars.'

He added: 'Recognising a crab in a landscape filled with wind-weathered rocks is no more surprising - nor more significant - than seeing a winking face in a semi-colon followed by a parenthesis. ;)'