Experts have been left stunned by a "mermaid skeleton" that washed up on a Merseyside beach last week.
Formby mum Kirsty Jones was on Hightown beach with her partner, children and another family on June 1.
They were about to begin a picnic, when they noticed the creature on the sand.
Kirsty told the ECHO : "We found this while walking along the beach and would really like to know if anybody knows what it is.
"My initial words to my children were 'this looks like a mermaid'. It had a fish-like tail.
"We had just gone for a picnic when we came across it, and we are very curious to find out what creature it may be."
Sefton Council's Green Team maintains the borough's coast, countryside, parks and green spaces.
The team is usually able to identify wildlife on the coastline, but this time is different.
The ECHO reached out to a number of officers from the team, none of whom were able to give a specific identity for the remains of the creature found at Hightown Beach.
A council spokeswoman said it is "not uncommon for fish species to wash up on Sefton’s shorelines".
Similar questions were asked after a "beautiful creature" washed up on Crosby beach on last month.
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Veronica Parratt came across the animal, which Sefton's Green team later confirmed to be a harbour porpoise.
