Life is a beach – or is it a gift?
A skeletal hand washed up in Brazil this week — and a terrified couple on the beach had “alien bones.”
Leticia Gomez Santiago and her boyfriend, Devanier Souza, were on a romantic walk on the beach when they happened upon it.
The couple photographed the hand – found in the sands of Ilha Comprida, State of São Paulo, Brazil – next to a Santiago slipper as a size reference, noting how “big” they are.
“We think it’s not human because of the size and amount of bones,” Santiago said. “What could it be?”
Perhaps it belonged to some kind of aquatic mammal, or, they thought, something out of this world. So, of course, Santiago sought out social media experts to find out the truth.
She wrote to her followers: “We don’t know what an animal it is, and if it’s alien, then even worse.”
One commenter joked that it could be A lovable alien from the beloved 1982 Steven Spielberg movie About a pint-sized alien, or maybe it belongs to a prehistoric creature.
“Looks like an ET hand,” one quipped.
“[It’s a] Mermaid hands! another argued.
“It might as well be a dinosaur bone!” mentioned another person.
A sane person advised “take it to a biologist, because that’s not normal” – and that’s exactly what they did.
Marine biologist Eric Komen reports that the creepy hand probably belonged to cetaceans, a group of marine mammals that includes dolphins, porpoises, and whales, hence the size.
His deductions are made at first glance, suggesting that more testing is necessary to determine which sea creature the mysterious flipper belongs to – despite his conviction that it was likely a dolphin.
Based solely on the images he had seen, the rate of decomposition told the biologist that the mammal had most likely been dead in the water for 18 months.
He added that people who discover remains should report this to the Cananea Research Institute (IPEC).
Exotic or little-known sea animals – or parts of them – have been known to wash up on beaches, like last month, when “the scientistIt was discovered on a beach in Oregon.
The mysterious creature from the depths looks like a huge blob and smells like a “decaying mammal,” according to the locals who found it.
“We always prioritize leaving the bones on the beach so that it doesn’t interfere with the nutrient cycle within the ecosystem,” Henrique Chupill, IPEC spokesperson, told Jam Press.
Ultimately, when there is some scientific interest, we collect it for use in studies. If they are recently dead animals, we collect them to perform the autopsy and determine the cause of death.”
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