--- title: Biologist Identifies Hurricane Harvey Texas Sea Creature description: A mystery sea creature that washed ashore in Texas during Hurricane Harvey has been identified, thanks to one biologist and a viral tweet. canonical: https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-14T21:02:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:26:24.839Z article:section: Science og:title: We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is og:description: The long, fanged animal washed ashore during the hurricane in Texas og:url: https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4333338de8df069d/6988dde0196cf40cdb041f17/preeti-desai-eel-strange-found-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Preeti-Desai-Eel-strange-found-texas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is twitter:description: The long, fanged animal washed ashore during the hurricane in Texas twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4333338de8df069d/6988dde0196cf40cdb041f17/preeti-desai-eel-strange-found-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 14, 2017 9:02 PM UTC  A sea creature was found on a beach in Texas City, Texas on Sept. 6, 2017. A sea creature was found on a beach in Texas City, Texas on Sept. 6, 2017. Preeti Desai  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 14, 2017 9:02 PM UTC A mystery sea creature that washed ashore in Texas during Hurricane Harvey [has been identified](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/14/the-fanged-faceless-sea-creature-that-washed-ashore-during-harvey-has-been-identified/?utm%5Fterm=.96933f8e07ac) thanks to a biologist and a viral tweet. After Harvey, National Audubon Society social media manager Preeti Desai posted a tweet asking for help identifying a elongated, fanged sea creature whose body appeared on a beach in Texas City. People suggested that she contact Museum of Natural History biologist and eel expert Kenneth Tighe, who determined the specimen was likely a fangtooth snake-eel (_Aplatophis_ chauliodus). “It was completely unexpected, it’s not something that you’d typically see on a beach. I thought it could be something from the deep sea that might have washed on to shore,” [Desai told the BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41256922). “My main reaction was curiosity, to figure out what the heck it was.” > [](https://twitter.com/preetalina/status/905578912348024834) The fangtooth snake-eel is typically less than three feet long, and spends its time burrowing at depths 100 to 300 feet under the sea, [the _Guardian_ reports.](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/14/strange-eel-mystery-of-the-texas-eyeless-sea-beast-solved) Still, some [people got carried away](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/14/the-fanged-faceless-sea-creature-that-washed-ashore-during-harvey-has-been-identified/) over Desai’s photos of the sea “monster”—so she clarified on Twitter that the animal wasn’t particularly terrifying or big. > [](https://twitter.com/preetalina/status/908012921887887360) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/"},"headline":"We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is","datePublished":"2017-09-14T21:02:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:26:24.839Z","description":"The long, fanged animal washed ashore during the hurricane in Texas","url":"https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/","keywords":["animals","Texas","Internet","viral","onetime","hurricane harvey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4333338de8df069d/6988dde0196cf40cdb041f17/preeti-desai-eel-strange-found-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4333338de8df069d/6988dde0196cf40cdb041f17/preeti-desai-eel-strange-found-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Preeti-Desai-Eel-strange-found-texas","caption":"A sea creature was found on a beach in Texas City, Texas on Sept. 6, 2017.","creditText":"Preeti Desai","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4942334/hurricane-harvey-mystery-creature-texas/","name":"We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is"}}]}] ```