Has the Loch Ness monster been discovered? PROMAR (Programa en Defensa de la Fauna Marina-Sea Life Defense Program) is working on finding that answer after a “horned monster” washed ashore in Spain earlier this month.

A swimmer first discovered the head of the monster while walking along the beach. The head had two horns protruding from it. Then, as she walked further down the beach, she discovered the 4-meter long body.

“A lady found one part, and we helped her retrieve the rest,” Civil Protection coordinator Maria Sanchez said. “We have no idea what it was. It really stank, as it was in the advanced stages of decomposition.” She added, “Promar experts are trying to find out what it could be.”

Identifying the monster has not been an easy task. The body was found in a very decomposed state and the smell from the monster made it hard to work around. Due to hygienic reasons, the body of the monster had to be buried and now researchers have only the samples they were able to obtain and the pictures taken to go by.

“It’s hard to know what we’re dealing with,” A PROMAR (Programa en Defensa de la Fauna Marina-Sea Life Defense Program) spokesman Paco Toledano said. “It’s very decomposed and we cannot identify what it is. Perhaps we could learn something more from the bones, but to be precise, it would be necessary to perform a genetic analysis, which is very expensive and who would pay for it? Anyway, we have submitted the information to colleagues with more experience and knowledge to see if they can tell us something more specific.”

Different theories have been circulating as to what the monster could be. Jokingly, people have said that it is Nessie, or some other kind of sea dragon, but scientists believe that it is a type of shark or an oarfish.

One scientist, David Shiffman, shared his opinion on the Southern Fried Science website and said: “It’s hard to tell, but the official guess that it could be a thresher shark seems plausible. Certainly the tail looks oarfish-y. It maybe could be a thresher shark, but nothing else.”

Another expert from Florida State University, Dean Grubbs, says: “That is definitely a shark skeleton… The elements toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin supports. The ‘horns’ are the scapulocoracoids which support the pectoral fins.”

Image via YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbqZSr7zrJ0