A man's dog discovered a mysterious-looking, dead sea creature while walking along Ocean Beach Tuesday.
"Well, you know, he comes here at least once a day. If there's something dead on the shoreline, he's usually there on it with his nose," said Sean Peterson, the owner, while his dog Buck sniffed the ground.
NBC 7 has since confirmed that the creature is a Moray Eel, which are known to wash up on San Diego's shores.
Scripps officials said this doesn't happen very often. It's more likely that you'll see one at an aquarium than while going for a stroll by the beach.
According to the Ocean Explorer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Moray Eeel is a long, skinny fish that can reach 13 feet in length, or become twice as tall as an adult human being.
The giant moray can even weigh more than people do, according to NOAA. Although they are fish, they don't have pectoral or pelvic fins.
Mostly found in the warmer oceans, morays can burrow into the sediment or make their homes in between rocks, explained NOAA officials.
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A couple times a year Scripps receives calls about the eels, simply because they are slightly freaky looking.
This one may have gotten caught in a fishing net before washing ashore, based on photos of the creature, according to Scripps.
The UCSD aquarium has two exhibits that contain Morays, with the Giant Kelp Forest being the biggest and most impressive one.
