Weird ‘alien like’ object washes up on Australian beach – so what exactly is it?
A mysterious phenomenon washing up on an Adelaide beach has caused a stir among locals after a dog walker was left stunned by her discovery.
The bizarre natural phenomenon washed up in Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, south of Adelaide, on Monday morning.
Confused residents took to social media groups to discuss the three-metre-long mass of translucent stems, likening it to ‘vermicelli’ with ‘shells’ at the end of each strand.
“Over 26 years of walking Horseshoe Bay – I’ve never seen anything like it,” one local woman wrote as she shared images of the barnacles online
‘Nature never ceases to amaze!’
“That might be the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen,” said another resident.
Another local resident visited the strange sight and said there seemed to be “brown creatures in and out of the shells at the end.”
Eagle-eyed locals revealed the strange mass was a group of geese barnacles.
A South Australian woman discovered a long piece of wood covered in barnacles while walking her dog on the beach
A woman shared the footage with a local community and people had no idea what it was
A marine ecologist said barnacles are a specific type of barnacles and are different from the barnacles typically associated with boats and whales
University of South Australia marine ecologist Dr Zoe Doubleday said there are two types of barnacles: the ‘acorn’ varieties such as those growing on ship hulls and rocks, and goose barnacles such as those washed up on Horseshoe Bay.
‘They’re strange because barnacles are actually crustaceans, but they’re a completely different group of animals – more closely related to a shrimp than a cockle,’ Dr Doubleday said. the advertiser.
Goose barnacles even have hinged ‘legs’ with which they catch small food particles.
Dr. Doubleday said she was impressed by the discovery.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before and it must just be an old mast from a jetty or a piece of maritime infrastructure that has been in the water for so long for a dense group of barnacles to grow,” she said.
The strange sea creatures are considered a delicacy and many locals suggested that Port Elliot residents eat them
Some locals suggested those on the beach should eat the barnacles, with one adding: ‘apparently they taste similar to razorfish’.
‘Get ’em, paella heaven. So rare. You’ll never get cockles like that! It must have been a floating rope,” said another.
The barnacles are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world and a plate of seafood can fetch hundreds of dollars.
The Australian Museum described the barnacles as ‘long, rubbery stems’ and wrote that it is common to find them floating in large groups on marine objects and wreckage, or on quays and piers.