Commuters on board a New York subway noticed something fishy on their early morning train journey - a dead shark.
The one-and-a-half-foot long stowaway was spotted on the floor under a row of seats on a Queens-bound train around midnight.
The creature weighed between five to 10 pounds and was still wet with blood around its mouth, according to witnesses.
Passengers took photographs of the unusual find before the conductor evacuated the carriage. The train then continued to the end of the line where the shark was disposed of by a supervisor.
One commuter, identified as Mary M, told gothamist.com: "I board a car that's not terribly full and as soon as I enter, a stench hits my nose. It's not the typical urine/trash smell, it's...fishy?
"I look down to the end of the car to see a dead shark on the floor. I think I stood there for a good minute just staring, thinking 'Is this for real?!
"One of my fellow passengers remarked 'I've been riding the subway for 15 years, and this is the weirdest thing I've seen. And I've seen EVERYTHING.'"
Fellow commuter Juan Cano told CNN: "I thought it was just a plush toy or a prank. When I saw the teeth that's I knew it was real, it was no toy."
Snaps of the bizarre incident have gone viral, including one showing the shark with a cigarette in its mouth, clutching a fare card and an energy drink.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority have been unable to identify where the shark came from.
Some people have speculated that the appearance of sharks in mysterious places is a publicity stunt for the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week."
Photos of the two mysterious sharks have exploded on social media using the hashtag #sharkweek.
However the Discovery Channel denies any involvement.
Spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg told CNN: "Shark Week is all about conservation, so it deeply saddens us that someone would think that this was funny or in any way connected to our celebration of sharks."
The one-and-a-half-foot long stowaway was spotted on the floor under a row of seats on a Queens-bound train around midnight.
The creature weighed between five to 10 pounds and was still wet with blood around its mouth, according to witnesses.
Passengers took photographs of the unusual find before the conductor evacuated the carriage. The train then continued to the end of the line where the shark was disposed of by a supervisor.
One commuter, identified as Mary M, told gothamist.com: "I board a car that's not terribly full and as soon as I enter, a stench hits my nose. It's not the typical urine/trash smell, it's...fishy?
"I look down to the end of the car to see a dead shark on the floor. I think I stood there for a good minute just staring, thinking 'Is this for real?!
"One of my fellow passengers remarked 'I've been riding the subway for 15 years, and this is the weirdest thing I've seen. And I've seen EVERYTHING.'"
Fellow commuter Juan Cano told CNN: "I thought it was just a plush toy or a prank. When I saw the teeth that's I knew it was real, it was no toy."
Snaps of the bizarre incident have gone viral, including one showing the shark with a cigarette in its mouth, clutching a fare card and an energy drink.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority have been unable to identify where the shark came from.
Some people have speculated that the appearance of sharks in mysterious places is a publicity stunt for the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week."
Photos of the two mysterious sharks have exploded on social media using the hashtag #sharkweek.
However the Discovery Channel denies any involvement.
Spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg told CNN: "Shark Week is all about conservation, so it deeply saddens us that someone would think that this was funny or in any way connected to our celebration of sharks."
