The Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) shared a picture on Facebook on October 5th, 2020 showing a mysterious creature that washed up onto the shore.
A visitor walking along the beach took the picture of what appears to be a sea snake or eel laying in the sand and they sent it into PINS. At first, PINS thought it was a Texas blind snake that appears when floods happen and are very similar looking to earthworms.
However, after investigating the picture, they realized its body shape was more like the body of an eel. PINS discovered that in the Gulf of Mexico there are eels called burrowing eels that dig holes in mud and sand to catch a meal. Sometimes these eels can mimic the same colors of venomous sea snakes to trick predators.
“So after endlessly researching eels and snake eels that might live in the Gulf of Mexico on the Texas coast, we have concluded that we still don’t know exactly what this mystery creature might be,” PINS wrote on Facebook.
Padre Island National Seashore says they are guessing it’s a “snake-eel” but have asked their followers to look at the picture and tell them what they think it might be. Take a look at the picture below! What do you think it is?
https://www.facebook.com/nps.pais/photos/a.185349318184846/3332630106790069/?type=3