‘Horrifyingly goofy’ creature washes onto Southern California beach

A nightmarish sea critter recently washed ashore on a SoCal beach. Its look was so awful that the Reddit pics were tagged NSFW.

The person who posted said they found the dead marine animal near Dana Point, Calif. The details and clear photos helped ID the ugly thing.

Tim Daly of the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife told SFGATE he agreed with the Reddit crowd. It’s likely a dead moray eel, though this one “looks a bit bleached from being dead.”

Moray eels are common in SoCal coastal waters. They live near reefs in shallow water.

They’re not poisonous or super aggressive, but it’s wise to steer clear. If threatened, they’ll bite with their sharp teeth.

Redditors had fun ID’ing the eel.
“That’s a moray. Check again tonight. If the moon hits its eyes like a pizza, that’s a Moray,” one wrote.
“When the jaws open wide and there’s more jaws inside, that’s a moray,” another said.

I sure wouldn’t want to meet this thing in the ocean!