Very realistic looking "mermaid" washed up...

[Mermaid Narina]

So one of my friends shared this on facebook, and I took a look, it seems to be another one of those mermaid findings/hoaxes (up to you whether you believe it or not) :)
This one looks a lot different than the usual brown, rotted, creepy-as creatures I'm used to seeing in these sorts of posts however. Regardless of whether or not you believe in real mermaids (I don't... Sorry :P), my first thought was examining how pretty the tail was and trying to see if I could prove that it was a person with a wicked realistic costume haha :P I can't post the pictures from my phone but I will include the link :)
http://www.vamshare.com/mermaid-caught-went-viral/
What are everyone's thoughts?

[Mermaid Sam]

It's one of those things where I hope it's real but I just have this feeling that it's not. I do believe mermaids exist but there have been so many hoaxes and so many different representations of them. I guess what I'm trying to say is if they've kept themselves hidden for so long, why would they suddenly show up now? But like I said, I do hope it is real. That would just be so awesome!

[Mermaid Narina]

Same! I'm a sceptic about mermaids every time I see one if these articles, but a small part of me wishes it was real!! :(

[Starfrit]

It's fake. :c Those photos are of the dead mermaid props made by Joel Harlow for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. There's loads of photos of these props floating around.

[Echidna]

Probably a hoax, but the most realistic looking one I've ever seen.

They might have used the beached remains of a colossal/giant squid for the "hair" and tail part (it looks a bit like a tentacle), but on closer inspection, it shows a clear underbelly and a scaled back which a tentacle wouldn't have.

Then there is this dorsal-like stuff on the back which also looks very realistic, similar to oarfish or eel dorsals but not quite.
The length and look of the tail is pretty spot-on in regards to ancient mermaid depictions.

All in all, amazing picture, though I don't think it's real because if mermaids were a tangible aquatic species, they'd be subjected to adaptational evolution, and I don't think eyebrows would be a feature of a millenia-old waterdweller :p

[Echidna]

that's what you get for writing novels :lol:

I really might have to check that silly movie out after all!

[Ashley]

http://hunterkillerstudio.com/pirates.html
check out this URL it is a prop, but a pretty freaking good one.

[Mermaid Adriel]

I's clearly a fake, but well done.

[Chrissy]

That is a very bad photoshop.

[Aziara]

Yeah, likely fake, though I do think the kelp-hair is pretty awesome.

[PearlieMae]

A lot of work went into those, only to see a glimpse of them in the movie.

[shimmygoddess]

looks a bit like the mermaids in Harry Potter

[AniaR]

These have been around for years. There are better photos and another thread
Movie prop

[Prince Calypso]

wait those pictures went viral? omg didn't think that was gonna happen when i posted them lol

[Prince Calypso]

these are the dead mermaid prop bodies from Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides. i collected all the pictures i could of them to base my tail on at one point a while ago and posted a few on my tumblr and my mermaid page on Facebook. the pictures featured in the artificial i think are the ones i posted. i have a crap ton more

[Nana]

Really nice prop though. Pretty creepy.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

When I saw those pics, I thought, "that's Caltuna's tail!!"

[Echidna]

*gulp*
*checks it again*

the outline looks a bit serpentine, and the fluke is oval-shaped, so yea, the shape is reminiscent of my white dragontail.
it's a lot less slippery-looking though, and I don't have a crest on it.

(seriously, I think people would run away screaming if I had a tail looking like that lol)

[Mermaid Jaffa]

*gulp*
*checks it again*

the outline looks a bit serpentine, and the fluke is oval-shaped, so yea, the shape is reminiscent of my white dragontail.
it's a lot less slippery-looking though, and I don't have a crest on it.

(seriously, I think people would run away screaming if I had a tail looking like that lol)
Haha! Didn't mean to scare you! I just thought when I first saw it, I remembered that you liked snake tails and I imagined you swimming in snake tail instead of your black n white one in your signature.

[Mermaid Wishbone]

I almost did a spit take 'cause I thought this would actually be real, but then in realistic terms, a mermaid would more likely to have our hair follicles or no hair at all since it would be a bother to her while swimming, so I think this is fake :(