Last week, I posted this image of a scary, um, creature, and asked you to decide if it was real or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overwhelmingly, you cried fake. And, of course, you're right: it's fake. Well, it's sorta fake.

From the eBay auction:

"I was taking my usual walk down a local beach here in Tampa Florida when I came upon this very strange fish on the shoreline. There was a crowd of seagulls nearby but no matter how hungry they seemed to be they would not get near this sea monster. After making sure it was dead, I picked it up to further examine it. Nearby, a woman, who was the only other person on the beach this day, asked out loud if it was a dead shark. Clutching the strange sea creature in my hand, I walked towards her so she could have a better look at this freak of nature. As I got closer to her, she told me to stop. With a look of horror on her face, she quickly turned and left the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards I decided to take it home with me. I measured this cryptid creature at 20 inches long. I decided to list this weird and wonderfull fish on ebay to share it with the world. I guarantee that this creatures flesh, teeth, jaw and skull are REAL 100% once living, organic flesh and bones [italics mine]. Though mummified, this unknown species of fish has been cleaned and treated with taxidermy chemicals to preserve and reduce any fish odor to a mininum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winner to this auction will recieve the exact same fish pictured below. This auction is not a joke and there is no trick photography here. One does not find Sea Monsters up for auction very often. Think of the stories you could tell to friends, customers or crowds. Such a creature deserves to be in a museum for many people to enjoy. This auction is open to all countries of the world. Please do not bid if you have a zero feedback rating. I have the right to reject bidders with a zero feedback rating or excessive negatives. Please email me if you have any questions or comments relating to this auction. Thank you and good luck."

Evidently, seamystery is an artist who uses real fish parts, taxidermizies (???) them, and sells them for fun and profit on eBay. So, although the creature was not born to a mother, it was born in the imagination of seamystery. Ahh...

Interestingly, the winner was goldenpalacecasino, the lucky buyer who also ended up with the Virgin-Mary-in-the-Grilled-Cheese sandwich, as well as some other real gems.

[Via Newsvine]