The unidentified creature.

The remains of a sea creature, as yet unidentified, have washed up on Pukehina Beach in New Zealand. A video of the monster from the deep has sparked a debate about exactly what the animal might be …

Elizabeth Ann filmed the shoot, which reveals the 30-foot long carcass with its entrails apparently trailing out behind it. The animal has rows of sharp teeth but appears to have been almost severed in half itself, prompting the further question about how the unknown animal met its demise.

The video poster has asked viewers to identify what the animal might be, noting that it has “a huge head and teeth with rudimentary flippers”.

Anton van Helden, a marine mammal expert, has suggested that the creature is most likely to be a decomposed killer whale. Speaking to New Zealand’s Channel 3, he explained that the animals are common in the area the carcass was found and that the body of the creature has a fin structure similar to that of a killer whale.

Among the suggestions put forward so far are a saltwater crocodile, a dolphin, a giant moray eel or even a dinosaur. Tests are currently underway to establish exactly what the animal is, in the meantime theories will continue to spring up about exactly what the creature might be.

You can view the video here.