A massive sea creature washed up on an island in Indonesia last week, scaring and baffling onlookers at the same time.
The 49-foot beast was discovered on Seram Island in the Maluku province on May 9, according to the Jakarta Globe. A fisherman initially believed the creature was a abandoned boat, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper described the creature as a “giant squid,” but some experts say it appears more likely to be a kind of baleen whale.
“Giant squid are invertebrates and there are clearly bones visible (jaw, skull, vertebrate) so I am very comfortable saying it’s some type of rorqual whale,” Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, told HuffPost.
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She told HuffPost that some species of baleen whales have “‘ventral grooves’ which run from their chin to their belly button.”
“It is stretchy tissue that expands when they feed,” she told the website.
Edith Widder, of the Ocean Research & Conservation Association also guessed that the creature was a baleen whale, according to HuffPost.
Baleen whales are the largest animals to exist on the planet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There are 12 baleen whale species.
They were named for the long plates of baleen which hang in a row, “like the teeth of a comb,” from their upper jaws, according to NOAA.
Terrified residents on the island are asking the government for assistance in trying to remove the decaying creature, according to the Jakarta Globe.
SEE IT: Massive sea creature washes up on island in Indonesia – New York Daily News