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Mysterious Gray Mass Found on Beach, Scientists Identify Rare Creature
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mysterious grain Mass found on beach
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scientists identify rare creature
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in 2019 a gray Mass was discovered off
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the coast of Santa Barbara coal oil
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Point Reserve in Southern California
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unfortunately there were initially
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difficulties in identifying the creature
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the only characteristic was the
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extraordinary size of the strange figure
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after the images spread on social media
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marine biologists came to the rescue
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what was it really about
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a seven foot long 600 pound creature
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that washes up on the beach cannot be
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ignored especially by the staff at
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Southern California's coal oil Point
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Reserve at first they had no idea what
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it could be well that's not entirely
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true they recognized some similarities
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with other creatures but frowned as they
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approach the thing what was the sea
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creature and how did it end up on a
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California beach at first experts at the
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cool oil Point Reserve thought it was a
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sunfish the type of fish is after all
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one of the greatest freshes on Earth
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some of them can even weigh up to two
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thousand pounds and while the gray Mass
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might not be that far from the Sunfish
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some aspects weren't what they
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envisioned creature was big enough to be
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a sunfish but was it really
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coal oil Point Reserve employees found
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the creature off the coast of Santa
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Barbara California in 2019.
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the creature had already passed away
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right at the feet of the
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environmentalist who had made it their
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life's work to study such creatures
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affected by the University of California
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Santa Barbara and is one of the best
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examples of coastal environments
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hopefully researchers would soon have an
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idea of what the animal was
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the reservoir faced the Pacific Ocean so
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there's a large amount of sea creatures
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fauna and vegetation anyway researchers
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have no shortage of incredible animals
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to identify in the depths but what kind
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of fish could it be the intern who
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spotted the animal said it just looked
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like a gray Mass this was true at least
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until he and the other staff got closer
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to see the body Jessica Nielsen a
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naturalist told press at the University
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of California Santa Barbara that she was
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shocked at first nothing like this had
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ever washed up in the reservoir unlike
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other animals this one had strange
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characteristics that she couldn't place
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in an interview she said this is
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definitely the most remarkable organism
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I've ever seen washed up after all I've
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been working here for four whole years
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it seems to be getting really mysterious
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after posting the strange creature on
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the reserve's Facebook page they waited
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to see if anyone online might have an
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idea eventually biologist Thomas Turner
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showed interest in the mystery as an
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evolutionary biologist he would surely
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have an answer to the big question
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wouldn't he unfortunately he too was as
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speechless as Nielsen he even brought
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his wife and son to see the thing for
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himself on the beach
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during an interview with CNN in February
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2019 Turner said it's very unusual fish
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that's for sure because it doesn't have
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a caudal fin all of its teeth are fused
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together so it kind of just as a round
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opening for a mouth in addition
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reference must also be made to the size
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of the animal
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Turner signaled the incredible size by
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spreading his arms during the interview
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he said the animal was definitely six
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feet long just unbelievable
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with no tail fin and impossibly large
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body and 600 pounds the coal oil Point
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reserves research team concluded the
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animals must actually be a large Sunfish
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also known as a mola Mola the team
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posted pictures of their find on
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inaturalist a social media platform for
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environmentalists to see if anyone else
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had any opinions it was again confirmed
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it was a sunfish they had found
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all was not as it seemed though a fish
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expert at the South Australian Museum
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rail Foster had a different opinion and
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throughout the theory the team had put
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forward in California
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Foster looked at the animal and said it
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wasn't a normal sunfish
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actually thought that this animal
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probably didn't correspond to an already
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documented fish species with this new
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thought he turned to someone who
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probably knew the answer to the mystery
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unsure if his opinion was right he
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decided to contact Marianne nyogard a
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marine biologist
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after writing her reply in an email and
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a letter with photos attached he waited
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and hoped for a reply soon
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a hint at this point would have been
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extremely useful unfortunately she
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wasn't particularly moved by the
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pictures and said she didn't have a
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solution to this problem either the
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creature remained unidentified
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Niagara did not give up directly on
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identifying the animal she asked for
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better visual support to be sure of
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things during an interview with CNN she
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said the images just weren't very clear
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so I was reluctant she now had a new
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task she wanted to find out with Foster
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what creature was on the shore of the
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reserve so she turned to Nielsen and
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Turner for better higher quality images
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Nielsen and Turner were more than
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willing to go back and snap some better
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photos so the scientists could form a
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better opinion but then they encountered
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a new problem when the two came to the
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beach the creature was no longer to be
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found
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a few days had passed since the
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discovery and the tide had come and
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taken the creature back with it but they
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wouldn't give up that easily
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search was well structured Nielsen and
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Turner started on opposite sides of the
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beach and approached the middle maybe
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they'd find the animal there again they
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had to try and they were right
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just a little way from where they
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originally found the animal lay the gray
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mass now they managed to take some
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better quality pictures and send them to
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The two scientists with any luck the
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pictures would help with the answer
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while taking the pictures Nielsen and
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Turner noticed something about the
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mysterious creature they saw something
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they hadn't noticed before they
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discovered some characteristics that
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could potentially be particularly
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helpful in the case
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now all they had to do was forward the
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images to Foster and niaguard felt like
6:03
they were about to have a breakthrough
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what sea creature did they find soon
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they'll know for sure
6:08
in 2019 Nielsen told the University of
6:11
California Santa Barbara website the
6:13
current it was really exciting to get
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the images because I might be able to
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help with this unusual discovery that
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would be fascinating the excitement was
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really unbelievable
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as soon as the photos got into
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niaguard's hands the animal could be
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identified niaguard told CNN that she
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almost fell out of her chair when she
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realized what the scientists had found
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there after the second round of photos
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taken by Nielsen and Turner arrived
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niaguard actually managed to identify
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the creature instead of a normal Sunfish
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it appeared to be a mola tecta also
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known as a hoodwinker fish
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interestingly in 2017 it was niaguard
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herself who was allowed to determine the
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name and species of this fish there are
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so many different Sunfish species that
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it can sometimes be difficult to
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identify them exactly Sunfish were first
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discovered in 1758 at that time however
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it was thought that there was only one
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ordinary Sunfish and there was no
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mention of the many species the
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discovery was made later
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only much later was a new species of
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sunfish discovered namely in the
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southern hemisphere off the coast of
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Australia New Zealand South Africa and
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other countries only niaguard herself
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decided to devote herself to the
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mysterious creatures
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during an interview with CNN niaguard
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said the hoodwinker mostly goes
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unnoticed because nobody knows the
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difference there's a long history of
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confusion with the Sunfish family this
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fish just manages to never be cited it's
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usually just mistaken for a mola mola
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but it's actually a molotecta at First
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Niagara hadn't thought of the mole
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attacked because it's not normally found
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anywhere near the United States
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in an interview with the guardian
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niaguard explained I've only spotted the
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moloteka in cold water so far it has to
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be said that it's really extraordinary
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for this fish to suddenly approach
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California
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she went on to explain which waters the
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Ebola teca actually likes to be in
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definitely in the southern hemisphere
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however it's not entirely unlikely that
8:12
fish will also seek out new territories
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it's just exciting for the scientific
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community
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niaguard told CNN the discovery of the
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species is actually the very first in
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America and indeed in the northern
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hemisphere it's obviously very exciting
8:27
for a marine biologist
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in an interview with the current Niagara
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described her enthusiasm at being able
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to identify the fish
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tekka was only recently discovered and
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there's still so much to learn about
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this species I'm so glad we were able to
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help researchers identify the animal
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