Locals perplexed after rarely seen marine creature washes up on a Queensland beach

An odd-looking sea creature that washed up on a Queensland beach has been identified as a rarely-seen fish.

A rarely seen marine creature has washed up on a Queensland beach.

With a large eye on a small fishing lure-like-shaped head and a long, thin body, the fish left some locals perplexed.

Gold Coast woman Celina, who asked her surname not be used, posted a photo of the animal to her Instagram account after stumbling across it during a 5.30am stroll along The Broadwater on February 3.

“Anyone know what this little guy is?” she wrote in her caption.

But other social media users were also stumped.

“Wow, really unusual (sic)” one commenter wrote.

Another guessed that it might be a rarely-seen juvenile oarfish.

After viewing the photograph, Ichthyologist Jeff Johnson from the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, said the museum received about a dozen inquiries a year about the unusual-looking species.

“The fish is a Hairtail Blenny,” he said.

“Its body shape is quite unusual for a blenny, and few would pick it for a member of that family.

“Due to its odd appearance, we get quite a few public inquiries about this species at the museum.”

Gold Coast locals were left stumped when this odd looking fish washed up. It was later identified as a Hairtail blenny. Picture: @stellar_reflections

Mr Johnson said hairtail blennies were mostly nocturnal, so while they were not rare, it was uncommon for people to see one.

“They’re not rare, they’ve very widespread, from right down south around Sydney, right across the top and down to Fremantle on other side of Australia and elsewhere in the tropical Indo-west Pacific region,” he said.

“The blenny are either burrowing or hanging around or floating object in open water.

“Occasionally they get washed up on the beach or taken in by prawn trawler bycatch.

“They’ve even turned up in the gut content of Mahi Mahi … (which) sometimes feed on them when they’re out in the open water.”

He said the burrowing species can grow up to 56cm long.

Though Celina said the fish appeared to swim away when the waves hit the beach again, Mr Johnson said the hairtail blenny was likely sick or injured.

“It sounds like it might have been incapacitated in some regard, they’re not normally found on the beach like that,” he said.

“Sometimes they get caught in prawn trawler bycatch and kept out of the water for some time so might be washed in, or they might get their back broken when getting sorted in the sorting tray.”

Originally published as Locals perplexed after rarely seen marine creature washes up on a Queensland beach