Sea Monster Washes Up on South Carolina Shore

By Kelli Bender Mar 26th 2012

Stand back, Nessie. South Carolina believes they are dealing with a whole different kind of sea monster. An alarmingly large and strange-looking body of some kind of aquatic creature washed up on the coastal state's Folly Beach.

Not knowing what the corpse could be, locals started claiming it was some kind of unknown sea monster. A South Carolina aquarium vet quickly dispelled this belief, identifying the freaky fish as a very large sturgeon.

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Several species of sturgeon are native to North America, with the Atlantic sturgeon being the type found in the South Carolina area. All species of this swimmer are known to grow to massive sizes. The Atlantic Sturgeon usually grows to be around 10 feet long and 300 pounds, but can grow to be as big as 15 feet long and 800 pounds.

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Obviously, Folly Beach's find is on the bigger side. The fish's beady eyes, face barbs and bony, scale-like plates all contribute to the sturgeon's alien look. For many residents of the area, this may be the first and last time they see a fish of this kind. The species, which has been swimming our seas for a 100 million years, is at risk. Sturgeon populations are being hit hard by commercial fishing, with several species making the endangered list.

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Still, we're sure local residents are happy to find out they are just dealing with a big fish and not Godzilla.