Nightmare-Fueling 'Sea Monster' Discovered On Texas Beach: What Is It?

Creepy. Bizarre. Ugly. Death.

These are just a few things local beachgoers in Texas used to describe a mysterious "sea monster" that washed up on the Bolivar Peninsula last week. Patricia Ducote shared a photo her friend Brandy Artall took in a Facebook group called "Bolivar Beachcombers" — and the internet went wild about the unidentified object.

While some speculated the toothy object was "that thing on Monsters Inc." or a "sea monster," one user summed it up by saying it's "the stuff dreams are made of NIGHTMARES."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was able to identify it, thankfully, as the gills and gill arches of a fish that was probably caught and filleted. "The feathery parts are the gills, which are attached to the bony gill arches. The spikey bits in the top middle are the pharyngeal teeth. I cannot identify the species, but it is most likely a large sport fish," TWPD's Lerrin Johnson told Chron.

In other Texas beach news, not one, but two messages in bottles made their way to the shore in recent weeks. Furthermore, a massive alligator made a surprise appearance on a beach, shocking beachgoers.