This Two-Headed Dolphin Looks Like It's Right Out of a Sci-Fi Movie

If you're doubting your eyes at the picture above, have no fear: That really is a two-headed dolphin. The strange carcass washed up on a Turkish beach last week and was discovered by a surprised vacationer named Turgul Metin, who called the police when he came across this unbelievable 3.2-foot-long body of a year-old pup.

"I was completely shocked," Metin told the Turkish Times, as translated by the Telegraph. "I noticed the dolphin in the sea and watched as it washed on to the beach. I couldn't take it in at first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I've never even heard about a dolphin like this, let alone seen one with my own eyes."

How is this possible? Although two-headed animals are pretty rare, they are not as strange as you might think. The condition that this dolphin exhibited is known as polycephaly, which happens when two monozygotic twins fail to separate; in humans, it is more commonly referred to as conjoined twins. Animals like these often have two brains, which can each independently control the shared limbs.

Scientists have discovered everything from two-headed cows to two-headed bull sharks. Check out this fascinating gallery of other known two-headed animals, from birds and fish to reptiles and mammals, from Gizmodo.

Still, knowing that two-headed animals exist in nature doesn't make this picture any less strange. Let's just hope that SyFy doesn't see this and decide on a two-headed "dolphin-nado" sequel next.

h/t the Telegraph