A mysterious phenomenon that washed ashore on an Adelaide beach has caused a stir among locals, after a dog walker was baffled by his discovery.
The strange natural phenomenon appeared 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, comparing it to “noodles” with “shells” at the end of each strand.
“Over 26 years walking around Horseshoe Bay. Never seen anything like it before,” one local woman wrote as she shared images of the barnacles online.
‘Nature never ceases to surprise!’
“That might be the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said another local.
Another local visited the strange sight and said the shells at the end appeared to have “brown creatures moving in and out of them.”
Eagle-eyed locals revealed the strange mass to be a group of 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 images with a group of locals and people had no idea what it was.
One marine ecologist said barnacles are a specific type of barnacle and differ from those typically associated with ships and whales.
Dr Zoe Doubleday, a marine ecologist at the University of South Australia, said there are two types of barnacles, ‘acorn’ varieties, like those that grow on the hulls of ships and rocks, and barnacles, such as those that appear washed up by the sea in Horseshoe Bay.
“They are strange because barnacles are actually crustaceans, but they are a completely different group of animals, more closely related to a shrimp than a cockle,” Dr Doubleday said. the advertiser.
Barnacles even have jointed “legs” that they use to catch small food particles.
Dr Doubleday said she was amazed by the discovery.
“I’ve never seen anything like it and it must just be an old jetty pylon or some piece of marine infrastructure that has been in the water for so long for a dense cluster of barnacles to grow,” he said.
The strange sea creatures are considered a delicacy and many locals suggested that Port Elliot residents eat them.
Some locals suggested that those on the beach should try eating the barnacles, with one adding: “apparently they taste similar to razorfish.”
‘Grab them, paella paradise. So weird. You’ll never get cockles like that! It must have been a floating rope,” said another.
Barnacles are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world and a plate of sea creatures can cost hundreds of dollars.
The Australian Museum described barnacles as having “long, rubbery stems” and wrote that it is common to find them floating in large groups on marine objects and debris, or on docks and piers.