--- 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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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  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"}}]}] ```