Terrifying creature described as “some sort of... eel” washes ashore in Australia

[Image via Robert Tyndall/Twitter]

A creature that can accurately be described as “monstrous” has ended up on a beach in Swansea, Australia.

The terrifying brute resembles a mix between a crocodile, a dolphin and freakishly large sea serpent, and was discovered by Robert Tyndall, according to the Newcastle Herald.

After a photo of the creature was posted and shared online, people immediately started accusing him of manipulating the image, the Herald reports.

“I knew it was some kind of eel and it’s a big eel, but it definitely looks bigger,” Tyndall told the Herald, adding he doesn’t know anything about computers.

It turns out the nightmarish creature was a pike eel, a pretty common species known to frighten and bite fishermen, Mashable reports. They’re said to grow up to a maximum of 1.8 metres (5’9 feet). Tyndall says the one he found was “about 1.4 metres” (4’5 feet).

Marine biologist Julian Pepperell told the Herald the one that washed ashore in Swansea was likely quite old, judging by its size.

Pike eels are not poisonous and are sold at markets in southeast Asia.