Last January 5, the remains of a huge sea creature spanning 15 feet in length was found washed up over a sanbank.
Washed Up 15-Foot Sea Creature Found
The remains were found by Stephen Davies, a 72-year-old resident of New Brighton. Davies was simply going on his morning exercise close to River Mersey at the mouth of UK's Liverpool Bay.
While locals refer to the huge carcass as a giant alien or New Brighton Nessie, the sea creature's remains were actually found to be that of a long basking shark, or Cetorhinus maximus.
Davies explains that he was running on the beach when he saw the remains and questioned what they were, as they appeared quite big. He shares that he was conversing with a fisherman who said that the remains belong to a basking shark, which Davies believes to not be quite common in the area. He adds that the remains could have been washed up by the tide, adding that he has never seen any similar sight in the past.
While these basking sharks can grow impressively up to 12 meters, the one found by the sandbank is believed to be a young open that is barely half the species' maximum lengths. The identity of the sea creature was confirmed by Chris Cureton, the north-west coordinator of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
Cureton explains that the giveaway was the second dorsal fin of the creature. The coordinator adds that the head is quite decomposed and that there is no recognizable sign of the toothed shark jaw.
The coordinator shares that he has never seen a washed up basking shark on Mersey banks in the past, adding that the creature could not have died close to Mersey but that its death could have been linked to the storms that they have been experiencing. These storms could have brought the remains in.
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Basking Shark
A basking shark can weigh up to six metric tons and span up to 12 meters. These characteristics make a basking shark one of the world's largest fish. It only falls behind the massive whale shark.
Its common name was inspired by a reputation of warm surface water basking close to the shore with its mouth open wide. The genus name of the species is remarkably less sernene, as it was derived from a Greek word translating to marine monster.
Over history, these sharks have been linked to fearsome beasts because of their massive sizes and distinct feeding habits. They were feared by ancient sailors. Their huge size alone was sufficient to lead to speculations regarding these huge creatures lurking under the waves. Sea serpent tales also came from observations of the sharks swimming through a formation of a single file close to the surface of the water.
While these giants appear monstrous, they are actually not fearsome predators. Basking sharks usually have slow movements as they scoop tiny zooplankton into their huge mouths.
Despite being slow, these sharks have been found to be able to breach fully out of water at a rate of five meters per second. Though great white sharks are known for such fast breaches as they surface-hunt for prey, these basking sharks do not need such feeding maneuvers. Researchers believe that basking sharks could be executing such acrobatic activities in order to deter predators, eliminate parasites, or potentially attract mates.
Basking sharks are also classified as endangered species in the IUCN Red List. This is due to accidental fishing gear entanglements and overfishing threats.
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