Sea Monster Discovered In New Jersey? Possible Bloody Lamprey Picture Goes Viral [PHOTOS]

A bloody Loch Ness-type monster was supposedly caught in a New Jersey river.

The photo of the alien sea creature was snapped two years ago, but the picture went viral after it was posted to Reddit last week. It has been viewed almost a million times by now.

[Click here to see photos, courtesy of the New York Daily Mail]

Doug Cutler happened to be fishing in the Raritan River two summers ago with a bow and arrow, as the picture of the water beast clearly depicts, and he spotted and slayed the sea monster.

His friend reportedly uploaded the picture to Reddit.

So what the heck is it? Here's one explanation: 

Outdoor magazine said it’s most likely a sea lamprey, a parasite that is typically found in the northern Atlantic region. The parasite uses its terrifying teeth to embed itself on it’s prey’s back before injecting digestive fluids that kill the fish.

[Just a side note, sea lampreys can latch onto humans and hang on for a while, but have not been known to cause severe injury.]

Lampreys have become increasingly common in freshwater bodies like the Great Lakes and rivers in New Jersey, the magazine said.

The only problem is the sea monster from the Reddit picture hasn’t been confirmed as a sea lamprey.

"The photo doesn't allow counting of gill openings (seven per side for sea lampreys), but based on size alone, this does appear to be a sea lamprey," a New York Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman told Outside magazine, according to the New York Daily News.

Buzz Feed, of course, believes that it’s not a lamprey or parasite and is without a doubt a monster.

It probably would have been helpful had Cutler alerted authorities about the “sea monster” after he caught it instead of his friend uploading the picture to Reddit years later.

Some commenters are convinced the creature in the picture is in fact a lamprey, but the photo has been manipulated.