A walker was left baffled after finding a mysterious sea creature that has been dubbed a ' forbidden churro '.
Taking to Reddit, they shared a picture of the long, thin, grey, animal and asked if other users could identify it, as the Daily Star reports.
The user explained they found the creature washed up on a beach in Ireland, and soon they were inundated with responses from people who were keen to offer advice.
One dubbed the creature a 'forbidden churro' and others said it looked like a sci-fi creature, but soon someone swooped in and said it looked like a greater pipefish.
What do you think the creature is? Let us know in the comments...
Taking to Reddit, the walker said: "Can anyone help me identify this sea creature? Just found it washed up on a beach in Ireland."
One user replied: "That be a sea scorpion's tail."
Similarly, another person said: "I wonder if this wasn't attached to a stingray."
Several people reckoned that it was a dead or dehydrated "needlefish".
Needlefish, as their name would suggest, are slender marine animals with a single dorsal fin which typically inhabit shallow waters.
However, they tend to be thicker than the mysterious creature.
Luckily, after much digging and comparing the snap to different aquatic beasts, one person got to the bottom of the mystery.
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They wrote: "I think it might be a greater pipefish (Syngnathus acus)."
The person who found the creature replied: "You're right! Just looked that up and it looks identical. Thanks for your help. I don't know much about marine biology and really appreciate it."
Pipefish are a subfamily of small fish which are closely related to both seahorses and seadragons.
The greater pipefish is a mini-species found along the western coast of Britain as well as Ireland, growing up to 18 inches long and weighing around 140 grams.
British Sea Fishing describe them thusly: "Extremely long and slim body. The snout is very long with the mouth located at the end.
"A single dorsal fin is present in the middle of the body and pectoral and tail fins are very small. There is a raised crest above the head.
"The body is rigid and made up of relatively hard scales and ridges which act as a kind of armour to protect the fish.
"Colour is usually a light brown to yellow/green, with 10 – 20 darker stripes along the length of the body."
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