Beachgoer finds ‘alien creature’ covered in tentacles during Papamoa beach walk in Bay of Plenty NZ
Stunned Beachgoer Finds ‘Alien’ Covered In Tentacles As He Strolls On The Sand: ‘Was Awesome But Kinda Dirty’
- Sandpiper was both amazed and revolted by the find
- It had worm-like tentacles and living creatures in shells
A beachgoer on her morning walk was left stunned by a huge ‘alien’ tree trunk covered in tentacles.
Kyley Morman was both amazed and revolted by what she found last week on Papamoa Beach in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty.
“Stumbled across this at Pap Beach…Had wormy tentacles and living creatures in the shells,” she wrote on social media.
“Was great, but kind of dirty at the same time.”
The bizarre find, about five meters long, is thought to be a gooseneck barnacle called Lepas anatifera – which, translated from Latin, means they usually live in waters far from shore.
A beachgoer on her morning walk was left stunned by a huge ‘alien’ tree trunk covered in tentacles
Wilma Blom, curator of marine invertebrates at the Auckland Museum, told New Zealand Stuff that the recent northeasterly wind had brought them ashore.
Although the creatures are commonly eaten, especially by Mediterranean cultures, Ms. Blom said, “I’ve never eaten them myself.”
“They sometimes wash up on the beach if the object they’re attached to washes up on the beach, but they don’t live there,” said University of Queensland associate professor Ian Tibbetts. Yahoo News Australia.
“They attach to floating objects in the open ocean where they feed on plankton,” he said, adding that they can also attach to dolphins and sea turtles.
One Facebook user said the huge tree trunk resembles a “breakfast bar for the seagulls donated by Mother Nature.”
Kyley Morman was both amazed and revolted by what she found last week on Papamoa Beach in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty
‘A little sad at the same time. All those living creatures die from the water…’
Another person said, “I saw this and wanted to post it but thought it would be something normal that everyone already knew.
A similar ‘tentacle’ covered block washed up on Greenhills Beach in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire last July.
Vicki Hansen, who came across the log while walking her dog on the beach, compared finding it to a scene from the supernatural TV show Stranger Things.