The strangely coloured body, which is around 50cm long, has an almost frog-like appearance. The anonymous lady who sent the photos, reportedly heard strange noises next to her summerhouse and discovered the creature dead but still warm next to fragments of metal.

Days later she was visited by investigators who claimed to be from a local scientific research centre, the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, the centre has no record of this occurring.

At least one of the images, which have recently been posted on a Russian blog, have been reported by the blog Phantoms and Monsters as having emerged three years ago, again from Russia.

‘This could be an elaborate hoax, however the possibility that this might be a genuine alien should not be discounted.’ paranormal writer Michael Cohen said.

Petrozavodsk is only a short distance from St Petersburg and the border of Finland.

Here at TNT we’re fairly convinced this is a rotten marrow that’s been kept in the fridge a bit too long. What do you think?