Massive skull found on New Jersey beach is identified
New Jersey’s Island Beach State Park posted photos after a large apparent animal skull washed up on the shore on Monday, May 31, 2021. (Credit: Island Beach State Park)
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BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WPIX) — Authorities in New Jersey identified a mysterious large animal skull that washed up on a beach on Memorial Day.
Island Beach State Park posted photos of the unexpected discovery on their Facebook page on June 2 after state park police found the skull.
“You never know what you are going to find on the beach after a storm,” they wrote.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection later identified the skull as the lower jaw and skull of a Minke whale.
Before it was officially identified, park officials had asked followers on social media for guesses as to what it could be. One user suggested it could be part of a small humpback whale skull, while another said it could be that of a baleen whale.
“That’s where my pterodactyl head went!” joked another commenter.