When two apparent alien corpses were paraded in front of Mexico‘s congress earlier this month it caused quite the stir across the world.
With their small bodies, three-fingered hands and strange elongated skulls, the mummified specimens looked like a cross between humans and the extraterrestrial creature from the movie E.T.
Even more bizarre is that their internal cavities also allegedly contained implants of rare metals and eggs.
It later transpired, however, that the corpses – found preserved in a Peruvian mine and supposedly dating back 1,000 years – had already been debunked by scientists two years earlier.
So what are five other times the world has almost been duped into believing that alien remains have been found on Earth? MailOnline takes a look.
Bombshell revelation: When two apparent alien corpses were paraded in front of Mexico’s congress earlier this month it caused quite the stir across the world. But it later transpired that the corpses (pictured) had already been debunked by scientists two years earlier
‘Ata’ the alien
Rewind 20 years and there was another discovery of a so-called mummified alien in South America.
This time it was in Chile, in the Atacama Desert specifically — hence why it was given the nickname ‘Ata’.
It was originally thought the 6-inch skeleton was potentially of extraterrestrial origin because it had a cone-like skull and just 10 ribs rather than 12 — a feature that had never been seen in humans before.
Peculiar: It was originally thought that a 6-inch skeleton named Ata (pictured) was potentially of extraterrestrial origin because it had a cone-like skull and just 10 ribs rather than 12. It was discovered in Chile in 2003
Dismissed: However, DNA tests at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University proved that the remains were that of a human female that died 45 years ago
However, a DNA study of the bones later ruled that out.
Genetic tests at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University proved beyond contention that the remains were that of a human female that died 45 years ago.
At first scientists said the skeleton belonged to a child around 6 to 8 years old, but they later revealed it was probably a foetus, or a baby that died shortly after birth.
The analysis found that her unusual appearance could be explained by a series of genetic mutations that are linked to dwarfism and other bone and growth disorders.
The extraterrestrial in my fridge
If aliens were to have visited Earth, you may think it rather unlikely that one would have ended up in a Russian woman’s freezer.
But that’s exactly what Marta Yegorovnam claimed back in 2011.
She kept the mysterious ‘lifeform’ on ice for two years at her home in the western Russian city of Petrozavodsk, before sharing several pictures to prove its existence.
The ‘body’ was reportedly retrieved by Miss Yegorovnam from a UFO crash site near her summer house in 2009.
Claim: Marta Yegorovnam supposedly kept an ‘alien’ (pictured) on ice for two years at her home in the western Russian city of Petrozavodsk. The ‘body’ was reportedly retrieved from a UFO crash site near her summer house in 2009
The creature was described as being 2ft long with an enormous head, large bulbous eyes and an appearance somewhere between a fish and a humanoid
She said she had approached the flaming wreckage and crumpled metal – which she described as ‘unbearably hot’ – and that laying nearby was the dead ‘alien’.
The creature was described as being 2ft long with an enormous head, large bulbous eyes and an appearance somewhere between a fish and a humanoid.
Miss Yegorovnam even told authorities that it appeared to be wearing a space suit when she discovered it.
Paranormal writer Michael Cohen said of the discovery: ‘This could be an elaborate hoax, however the possibility that this might be a genuine alien should not be discounted.’
An alien autopsy
It is one of the most famous videos among conspiracy theories.
In 1995, Ray Santilli claimed he possessed footage from the 1947 Roswell UFO incident of an alien autopsy.
The 16-mm film reputedly showed the aftermath of the supposed extraterrestrial crash in New Mexico, with a humanoid figure on an operating table.
They have a massive wound on their right leg, along with large eyes and a skull.
Out of this world: In 1995, Ray Santilli claimed he possessed footage from the 1947 Roswell UFO incident of an alien autopsy. However, it wasn’t until 11 years later that Santilli eventually admitted the footage was a ‘reconstruction’ of what he claimed to have previously viewed
However, it wasn’t until 11 years later that Santilli eventually admitted the footage was a ‘reconstruction’ of what he claimed to have previously viewed.
Only a ‘few frames’ were from the 1947 film, he added, although he did not specify which ones.
Santilli reportedly made millions from the footage, having sold it to TV stations in 33 countries.
It was later claimed by fellow film maker Spyros Melaris that the footage had been faked using animal organs and pig brains in a north London flat.
A Siberian stranger
Back to Russia again!
In 2011, in the frozen wasteland of Siberia, two walkers claimed to have found the remains of an alien in a known UFO hotspot.
Its slender, badly-damaged body was supposedly discovered half-buried in snow close to Irkutsk, Russia.
Weird: In 2011, in the frozen wasteland of Siberia, two walkers claimed to have found the remains of an alien in a known UFO hotspot
Its slender, badly-damaged body was supposedly discovered half-buried in snow close to Irkutsk, Russia
A video of it was posted online and became a massive worldwide hit, with believers claiming that it must have been injured when a UFO crashed to earth.
It followed reports of an alien spaceship hurtling towards the ground just one month earlier.
The reality, however, was far less exciting.
It turned out that the body had been made out of breadcrumbs and covered with chicken skin as part of an elaborate hoax, much to the disappointment of extraterrestrial enthusiasts.
Toying with us
Back in 2004, a major police alert was sparked following the discovery of a potential alien-like ‘foetus’ in the back garden of a home in County Durham.
Forensic experts were called in, along with a surgeon, but a closer inspection revealed that the find was far more farcical than originally believed.
Back in 2004, a major police alert was sparked following the discovery of a potential alien-like ‘foetus’ in the back garden of a home in County Durham. It turned out that the object was in fact a Scardox alien toy
It turned out that the object was in fact a Scardox alien toy.
Not exactly the most compelling evidence of a life-form from another planet.
And the Mexican Martian?
Just a ‘hodgepodge of human and animal bones’, sadly.
That’s according to a team of experts put together by Alexander Sokolov from the Scientists Against Myths YouTube vlog, who analysed the remains back in 2021.
One of the so-called ‘aliens’ was found to have a thigh bone where its upper arm bone should be, while its head was thought to have been created from the rear part of a llama or alpaca skull.
The so-called ‘alien’ mummies presented to Mexico’s congress have already been debunked by scientists
Explanation: Their heads are thought to have been created from the rear part of a llama or alpaca skull (depicted)
The team said it appeared that the facial part of the skull had been broken off, leaving just the brain case. This was then spun around to form the front of the ‘alien’ head.
‘Comparison shows that the reptiloid’s cranial cavity fits perfectly the skull cavity of the llama,’ said Sokolov in his 2021 YouTube documentary.
‘The location of the olfactory bulbs, the inner ear, the brain hemispheres and the little brain, precisely matches those in the llama skull.’
The oddities didn’t stop there.
Researchers said a thigh bone in one of the specimens was a human femur, but that it had been placed upside down. The other thigh bone was a tibia from the lower part of a human leg.
This would have made it impossible for the ‘alien’ to walk.
Not only that, but several of its fingers had been placed upside down, too.
KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY’S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE
Discovery of pulsars
British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.
Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.
Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.
‘Wow!’ radio signal
In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data.
In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data
The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.
Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the ‘Wow! signal’, which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.
Fossilised Martian microbes
In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.
The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984.
Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.
Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)
However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated.
They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils.
Behaviour of Tabby’s Star in 2005
The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.
It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.
The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist’s impression)
Recent studies have ‘eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure’, and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.
Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017
In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.
Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star ‘Trappist-1’, and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.
Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them.
Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: ‘This is just the beginning.’
