A group of locals discovered an unidentified, strange creature washed ashore the Destiladeras Beach in Jalisco, Mexico.

From a distance the creature looked like a dead dolphin, but as the group of locals moved closer, they quickly realized it was something much more sinister. While the creature does have a dolphin’s general head shape, it doesn’t have flippers or eyes and does have rows of sharp teeth with a tail similar to that of an eel.

Multiple local fishermen attempted to identify the creature, but none could do so with confidence, admitting they’ve never seen a creature with such an odd combination of traits and characteristics.

Image Credit: Central European News

The creatures lack of eyes means it most likely came from the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean, where animals can’t see through the water and don’t need vision. The light doesn’t reach their environment. It could, however, have come from a marine area in Puerto Vallarta near Mismaloya, which is said to be thousands of meters deep and lacking light as well.

On social media, the public’s most common guess is an eel, which could be bloated to give it such an odd shape. Some have also suggested that it’s a deformed dolphin. It’d be odd for a dolphin with all these deformities to live long enough to grow so big, though.

Ultimately, this could be a new creature altogether. The animal looks as if it’s some type of eel-dolphin hybrid. If it does live deep in the ocean, humanity wouldn’t ever see it unless it washed up on shore like this one did. The ocean is littered with unique and interesting hybrids, and people will continue to find new species forever.

Finding such a unique monster goes to show that cryptids aren’t always as unbelievable as some make them seem. Keep searching.