Creepy, Massive Beach Skull Has Been Officially Identified

The beach skull mystery is solved! Imagine you are taking a leisurely stroll on the beach...maybe you're looking for shells or sea glass...then you find THIS. Of course everyone has been talking about the dinosaur-like animal skull that washed up on Island Beach State Park on Memorial Day. This creepy find had us all guessing and now the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection identified exactly what it is...

Photo Credit: Island Beach State Park Facebook

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It was determined that the skull is actually the lower jaw and skull of a Minke whale!

After a storm you never know what weirdness is going to wash ashore and this was a rare find indeed! The skull was found by state park police on Monday, following several days of storms which makes a lot of sense. The turbulent waters churn up some real history. I wonder how old it is?!?

Park officials were having some fun asking us on social media what we all thought it was and I just want to take a minute to give extra points to the person who hysterically commented, "So that’s where my pterodactyl head went!”

A little about the Minke Whale...males average 23 feet long and the females are actually larger at about 26 feet long. Minke whales usually live for 30–50 years, in some cases they may live for up to 60 years. They are pretty common and what a lot of people would see on a whale tour.

It's one thing to find a gem like this when you are on land, it is an entirely different situation if you touch your piggies down on the sand while taking a swim and feel this guy under your feet. Ever see anyone actually run on water? You would if I was the one who found this while taking a dip. I'm glad people way smarter than me figured out what this was before I told my daughters a dinosaur washed up on the Jersey Shore :)

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