Beachgoer Suzanne Choate Arceneaux noticed a lot of dead things while walking the shores along Port Bolivar on January 4. She said she saw a seagull, a pelican, a stingray, and tons of jellyfish. However, there was something unusual that caught her eye.

“I did find a strange fish,” Arceneaux said in a Facebook group called Bolivar Beachcombers. “Can someone tell me what it is?”

In the comments, many joked about the dead, lifeless fish. Jessica Galbreath called it, “My Next nightmare.” However, some guess it right. Mark Fisher, the Coastal Fisheries Science Director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the fish was in rough shape but believes it was a snapper eel.

Fisher said they spend their day burrowed into soft sediments so most anglers never see them. He added that they are somewhat common in Galveston Bay. Port Bolivar is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay.

According to Texas A&M University at Galveston, snapper eels have narrow bodies and are elongated. The species is typically a tan color with brown spots. It has a V-shaped, narrow snout from above but with a rounded tip. The eels sometimes appear to lack eyes, which (to me) explains why they can be considered a “nightmare.”

TPWD said they can’t determine why the fish wash ashore but noted that most species end up on the beach due to the weather and water currents. Arctic cold weather arrived in the Galveston area during the holidays and into early January, according to a weather alert from the city.