Giant Sea Creature Baffles Scientists
Chilean scientists are baffled by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found on the Pacific coast and are seeking international help to identify the specimen.
The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts say the 40-foot-long mass of lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.
“We’d never before seen such a strange specimen. We don’t know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts, or maybe it’s a new species,” said Elsa Cabrera, director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
