With its horns, long white body and slithery form, it looks like a mythical beast.

But this four-metre long horned creature is only too real – as the stench from its decomposing flesh proved.

The mysterious sea creature was washed ashore in Villaricos, Spain – and tests are being done on the carcass to determine what it is.

An unfortunate swimmer stumbled across the head before coming across the rest of the body, the Huffington Post reported.
Civil Protection Coordinator Maria Sanchez said: ‘We have no idea what it can be, but it smelled bad, because it was so badly decomposed’, Digital Spy reported.

The extent of the deterioration of the creature meant most of the remains had to be buried for safety reasons.

Several theories have been suggested about what the creature is – ranging from it being a type of shark to it being an oar fish, but researchers are still examining it.