This year, on the shores of different parts of the planet, people were able to find a large number of strange dead animals.
Every year, the remains of unusual creatures that inhabit the Earth’s oceans are dumped on shores around the world. With the help of such finds, sometimes scientists unravel the mysteries of the life of some of the most elusive and mysterious creatures on earth. In 2022, quite a few surprising cases of dead sea animals were also found on the coasts of different countries. From beluga whales and giant squids to tiny penguins and jellyfish, Live Science has announced the 10 weirdest creatures to come ashore in 2022.
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white humpback whale
On one of the hidden beaches in Victoria, an Australian resident discovered the body of a 10-metre-long humpback whale. The body of this marine animal was white and looked more like a marble statue than a dead whale.
The dead whale turned out to be a female, but scientists believe that she is not an albino, that is, she does not suffer from a genetic disease that inhibits the production of pigment for her skin color. The fact is, they found patches of dark skin on the body.
Scientists concluded that this female whale suffers from another genetic disorder called leukemia. It is similar to albinism, and when an animal is infected with such a disease, the skin does not completely lose its color, individual dark spots appear.
Experts have also suggested that during weathering at the ocean surface, perhaps most of the whale’s outer skin fell off, revealing a lighter part of the skin underneath.
Giant squid half eaten
One of the most elusive and impressive sea creatures is the giant squid. It was his body that was discovered by a group of New Zealand residents. Partially eaten squid tentacles especially affected them. This huge cephalopod was 4 meters long.
Experts believe that the tentacles of the squid were not damaged by deep conflict with another inhabitant of the ocean, but were gnawed by carrion animals closer to the water surface.
Giant stranded squid are extremely rare, but at least six of the same cephalopods have washed ashore in this part of New Zealand over the past 30 years. More information about this event Focus already written before.
whale stomach
On one of the beaches of Cornwall, England, a local resident discovered something “alien”, which turned out to be a bunch of whale guts along with the stomach. Covered with algae, this tuber appeared as a single whole without visible breaks and did not emit strong odors of putrefaction.
Scientists who arrived at the scene immediately identified this “alien lump” as a whale stomach with intestines. By now it is known for certain that it is a large whale, but it is unclear which one. Experts believe these may be the remains of a humpback whale, sperm whale, or head whale, a delicacy for feeding ocean animals with carrion.
Hundreds of tiny penguins
More than 500 of the world’s smallest penguins have mysteriously washed up on New Zealand. This species is called little penguins, and they reach a height of 30-40 cm. Scientists did not immediately understand what could kill these birds, but noticed that most of the deceased penguins were weak.
The most likely cause, according to scientists, is an increase in ocean surface temperature caused by climate change. This forced the birds’ prey into deeper, colder waters where the penguins could no longer reach them. As a result, they lost almost all of their fat and died either from starvation or from hypothermia.
shark low
Scientists have determined that the carcass of baby sharks that washed up on a beach in the south of England this year is low. This baby belongs to the common fox shark species and is about 90 cm long; this is slightly shorter than the average body length of a newborn shark of this species. Scientists have found that she is a woman by birth. But scientists believe that this is not just a miscarriage, the shark’s mother got rid of this child as a result of “abortion”.
Spontaneous abortion in sharks may be due to stress and is more common than researchers previously thought. Experts believe that the mother shark may have been caught by fishermen and escaped the cub.
Common thresher sharks are fairly common in UK waters, but very rare because they live in deep waters. Adults can grow up to 6 meters.
mysterious beaked whale
Unusual wounds and scratches were seen on the mouth of the body of a mysterious beaked whale that washed up on a beach in California, USA. The length of this dolphin-like whale was almost 5 meters.
According to scientists, about two dozen species of beaked whales live on the planet, but only a few of them have been properly studied. Therefore, it is not yet known to which species this animal belongs. As for the wounds seen on the body, most likely the whale received them during a collision with a ship or a large boat.
Thousands of unusual jellyfish
Thousands of spherical jellyfish called the cannonball jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris) washed ashore in the US state of North Carolina.
These jellyfish are similar to real cannonballs in both shape and size, with an average weight of about 450 grams and a diameter of about 24 cm. This species is one of the most common jellyfish species in this region of the United States.
big eye squid
A gigantic carcass of a giant squid with eyes 30 cm in diameter has washed ashore in South Africa. This cephalopod was over 4 meters long.
Scientists don’t know exactly how this squid died, but it may have sunk into shallow waters in search of food. This was the second carcass in the region of a giant squid that washed up again this year. That squid was 3.5 meters long. It is not yet clear whether there is a connection between the deaths of these two sea creatures. More information about this event Focus already wrote
100 year old Greenland shark
The body of a very rare Greenland shark has been found off the coast of England. Its length was 4 meters and it weighed almost 300 kg. Greenland sharks live in the Arctic Ocean and the sulfur of the Atlantic Ocean and are considered one of the longest-lived animals in the world. They can live up to 270 years.
Interestingly, these sharks do not fully mature until 150 years of age. Therefore, after examining the corpse of a shark, scientists concluded that it was about 100 years old. Later, scientists found the shark’s cause of death: It was found that there was inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, which probably killed it.
World’s heaviest bony fish
The carcass of a giant dead sunfish has been found in the Azores. It turned out that this fish is the heaviest bony fish ever recorded on Earth.
The corpse of the sunfish did not come ashore, it was found on the surface of the ocean. The width of this fish was 3.6 meters, the length was 3.5 m. As for the weight, scientists determined that the fish weighed about 3 tons. The previous record was held by the same 2.3-tonne fish caught in Japan in 1996. More information about this event Focus already wrote
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.