Beachgoer finds 'alien' creature covered in tentacles during beach walk
The creatures usually live in open water away from land.
Many of us expect to find curious items washed ashore when we visit the coast, but one beachgoer was left completely baffled by her discovery on a New Zealand beach last week.
A large "alien" log, reportedly measuring five metres in length, was spotted at Bay of Plenty on the country's north island, with the local who found it describing it as incredible as well as gross.
Kylie Morman, who found the log during her morning walk, said it was covered in "worm-like tentacles and living creatures in the shells", Stuff reports.
What are the creatures on the log?
The creatures have been reportedly identified as goose barnacles, specifically the species known as Lepas anatifera.
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These marine animals are known to be pelagic, which means they live in waters far away from the shore.
“They are sometimes washed up on beaches when the object to which they are attached washes up on the beach, but they do not ‘live’ there,” Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts from the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Services told Yahoo News Australia last year.
“I have not seen any ever living intertidally."
"They attach to floating objects in the open ocean where they filter feed on plankton," he explained, noting the creatures have also been known to attach themselves to dolphins and sea turtles.
The sighting of the large log covered in goose barnacles in New Zealand comes after another similar "tentacle" covered log washed up on a Sydney beach last year, evoking similar wonder among locals.
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