Can anyone ID this

CaptainSkidmark

Basically this was washed up on the beach in Glandore while we were searching for the Fishermen.

It stunk to high heaven, we first taught it was a cow but it was deffo from the sea, it seemed to have hair on the bottom of what appears to be its back. It was very blubbery also so that ruled out it being a cow.

Its just still puzzling us.

viper123

Kind of has the look, but not the shape, of an ocean sunfish... was there any skeleton or something to identify a shape?

SeaFields

I'd say a a very badly decomposed cow. The flesh may have taken on a blubbery feel about it from being submerged for a long period of time. Total guess obviously

Paparazzo

It's an old carpet.

Seriously though, I think a cow is a good guess

tin79

Dead Seal, very well rotted? The males can easily get that large,

sineadgalway

dead grey seal? any more photos?

Longranger

viper123 wrote: »

Kind of has the look, but not the shape, of an ocean sunfish... was there any skeleton or something to identify a shape?

+1. Definitely a sunfish,albeit a very decomposed one. If you look below the white topped boot in the middle you can see its eye. Remember, they can grow
to well over a ton in weight. When they are out of the water and that rotten they just look like big leathery lumps of slop. We see a few around my way every year. The eyes are very small, as is the mouth, as they mainly feed on jellyfish. It looks like what's left of a good-sized one.

kleefarr

That's what I thought when I saw it, a sun fish.

smash

How anyone got a sunfish from those photos is beyond me

Fair play if you're right.

Longranger

smash wrote: »

How anyone got a sunfish from those photos is beyond me

Fair play if you're right.

We were asked for our opinions and we gave them. If I'm wrong believe me, I'll be the first to hold my hand up. It just looks like what we have seen around my way before. What do you think it is if you think we are wrong?

Auldloon

Not disputing the sunfish theory as positive id could really only be done by tissue analysis. Having said that I saw a documentary recently about Globster's...basically masses of blubber released from decomposing whales. Can also refer to general large decomposing sea creatures eg sharks and I'm sure sunfish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globster

Ronnie Beck

The fact the sun fish have a cartilaginous skeleton would explain why it turned into a blob. The hairs in the first pic I cant get my head around though.

smash

Longranger wrote: »

We were asked for our opinions and we gave them. If I'm wrong believe me, I'll be the first to hold my hand up. It just looks like what we have seen around my way before. What do you think it is if you think we are wrong?

I have no idea what it is. But it has hair on it and no fins or any distinguishing marks or visible eyes etc. And I didn't say you were wrong, I said fair play if you're right.

If it is a sunfish it's been there for a while!



There's a badly decomposed fish here and it still has it's fins http://malcolmpollack.com/2011/11/28/mola-mola/

CaptainSkidmark

Thanks guys!