--- 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: 2026-10-08T09:51:35.230Z 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 video:duration: 00:47 video:published: 2017-09-15 section: science topics: Hurricane Harvey aftermath, sea creatures, snake eels, marine identification, social media, misinformation about animal size, Texas coast, natural history genre: news, explainer tones: light, curious, reassuring, wry emotions: curiosity (high), amusement (medium), fear (low) sentiment: neutral audience: general news readers, science enthusiasts, social media users, people interested in hurricane aftermath stories people: Preeti Desai organizations: National Autobahn Society, Museum of Natural History, The Guardian content_suitability: disasters [00:00-00:25] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=cc1b6c22-ea0e-4b54-9107-1ac07d4c6d18&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is [Watch (HLS stream): We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5gIQgAOi.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2017-09-15. The identity of a mysterious sea creature that washed up on shore after Hurricane Harvey has finally been identified. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland)._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary A short news video reports that a mysterious fanged sea creature found on a beach after Hurricane Harvey in Texas has been identified. Social media manager Preeti Desai found the creature and was directed to an eel specialist, who determined it was most likely a fanged toothed snake eel. The video notes the species is usually under three feet long and says the size was exaggerated online, with Desai dismissing claims that it was a monster. ## Key points - A mysterious sea creature washed up on shore after Hurricane Harvey and its identity has been determined. (00:00) - Preeti Desai, social media manager for the National Autobahn Society, found the fanged creature on the beach after Harvey struck Texas. (00:06) - After she posted the creature's image on social media, people suggested she consult an eel specialist at the Museum of Natural History. (00:14) - The mystery specimen was determined to most likely be a fanged toothed snake eel. (00:21) - According to The Guardian, the eel is usually less than three feet long. (00:25) - Some people exaggerated the creature's size and claimed a photo showed a sea monster. (00:31) - Desai said the creature was not frightening, not colossal, and not a monster, just a sea creature trying to live its life. (00:40) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:14] Creature found after Hurricane Harvey. The video introduces the creature's discovery on a Texas beach after Harvey and how the social media post led to expert advice. - [00:14 to 00:31] Identification as a snake eel. An eel specialist identifies the creature as a fanged toothed snake eel, and the typical size is described. - [00:31 to 00:47] Size exaggeration and Desai's response. Online exaggerations of the creature's size and monster claims are addressed by Desai, who calls it an ordinary sea creature. ## Key quotes - [00:06] Preeti Desai: "Hey guys, so this thing wasn't frightening, wasn't colossal, and wasn't a monster." - [00:40] Preeti Desai: "It was just a damn sea creature trying to live its life." - [00:21] narrator: "It was determined that the mystery specimen was most likely a fanged toothed snake eel." ## Questions this video answers - What sea creature washed up after Hurricane Harvey? [00:00] - Who found the creature on the beach? [00:06] - What did an eel specialist determine the creature to be? [00:21] - How long is this eel usually? [00:25] - Was the creature a sea monster as some online claimed? [00:31] ## Content suitability - disasters [00:00-00:25]: References Hurricane Harvey striking Texas and displacing people and things.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 14, 2017 9:02 PM UTC The identity of a mysterious sea creature that washed up on shore after Hurricane Harvey has finally been identified. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland).  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":"2026-10-08T09:51:35.230Z","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":"https://time.com/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/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"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"We Finally Know What This Hurricane Harvey Sea Creature Actually Is","description":"The identity of a mysterious sea creature that washed up on shore after Hurricane Harvey has finally been identified. 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