Buzz
Over time, an intriguing collection of oddities has been discovered on beaches worldwide. Some were living creatures, while others were deceased marine life; still others were inanimate objects. A peculiar foam from the sea washed ashore, bringing with it a variety of common items that beachgoers don't typically encounter. Among these were discarded casings and even a bizarre creature straight out of Sigmund Freud's worst imaginings. As this list of 10 strange beach discoveries shows, the ocean's mysteries are undeniably strange.
10. Glowing Rock
On February 22, 2021, Mantana Dao Pibul went for a stroll on a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. There, she came across a piece of coral. Curious, she picked it up and noticed something unusual: the object was glowing! Shining her phone's flashlight on it, the rock’s red hue grew more intense, leading her to wonder if it could be a meteorite. After returning home, she observed that the glowing rock had changed color from red to purple. Neither Mantana nor her friends could identify the mysterious find. She hopes an expert can reveal what she stumbled upon during her beach walk.
9. Blue Dragons
It’s light blue with a lizard-like appearance, its dark-blue back forming a striking outline of its body. However, its feet are far from reptilian, instead bursting into strange star-shaped rays of various lengths. Though commonly referred to as a blue dragon, scientists call it Glaucus atlanticus, a type of nudibranch, a gastropod without a shell or true gills. Normally floating in the ocean, the blue dragon is sometimes blown by the wind in large groups onto the shores of Australia. Along with the 3-centimeter-long Glaucus atlanticus, a larger, 13-centimeter cousin, Glaucilla marginate—also called a blue dragon—occasionally washes up on beaches.
Both the smaller and larger blue dragons are part of the 'pleuston' group, organisms that live partly in the water and partly in the air, relying on the wind to move them. Although blue dragons can’t fight against ocean currents, they can twist themselves around and perform somersaults by drawing air into their bodies. This air forms a bubble inside them, allowing them to stay afloat and maintain an upside-down position.
Despite their limited mobility, blue dragons are predators in their tiny underwater realm, preying on blue buttons (colonies of hydroids) and bluebottles (colonies of polyps). Their blue coloration helps them blend in with the ocean’s surface, shielding them from predators.
8. Gooseneck Barnacles
Martyn Green, vacationing with his family in Caernarfon, North Wales, was taken aback when he saw the unusual object his wife, Gemma, had found. At first, it appeared to be driftwood, but upon closer inspection, Green realized the object was 'covered with thousands of tentacled sea creatures.' To him, it looked like 'something not of this world.'
After conducting an online search, Green and his son identified the mysterious marine creature. Gemma had discovered gooseneck barnacles. Green also made another surprising realization: the find was quite valuable. A delicacy in Spain and Portugal, gooseneck barnacles were worth £25 (US$ 34.82) each! Green estimated the 'driftwood' would provide around 2,000 barnacles—not a bad catch for the day.
7. Sea Foam
In December 2020, an unusual sea foam washed up on the beaches of New South Wales, Australia. The foam, a result of storms stirring up seawater, algae, salts, fats, and pollutants, created a thick layer over the water’s surface. This strange foam also brought with it a variety of bizarre items, including venomous sea snakes, giant spiders, trees, logs, and even 'half a cow.' A dog was rescued from the foam, and authorities warned both locals and tourists to avoid these beaches and refrain from swimming to ensure safety.
6. Unidentified Carcass
In February 2020, an eerie carcass washed up on a beach in Mexico. Was it a dolphin? If so, it was an odd one: it lacked eyes, and its teeth were much longer, more curved, and sharper than the typical short, blunt, slightly curved teeth of dolphins. And, of course, dolphins have eyes.
Perhaps the mysterious creature that washed up at Destiladeras in the western Mexican state of Jalisco was an eel. Its lower body lacked fins and flukes, and appeared much narrower than the anatomy of a dolphin.
Although these theories seemed plausible, no one, including local fishermen, could identify the carcass with certainty. Its lack of eyes hinted that it might have come from the deep sea, possibly from the 1,000-meter depths near Puerto Vallarta. However, no one could explain how the creature was transported from such depths to the shore.
5. Decapitated 'Corpse'
While volunteering for a beach cleanup in Perdido Bay in November 2020, a woman named Kathleen stumbled upon something much more alarming than debris. She discovered a headless, barnacle-covered corpse, which she immediately reported to Ocean Hour, the nonprofit environmental group she was working with. A bystander had already informed the police about the disturbing find.
Kathleen initially believed the victim had been decapitated. However, authorities soon determined that the 'corpse' was actually a mannequin. Despite its human-like appearance, its true nature was revealed, though its origins and how long it had been in the water remain unanswered questions.
4. Sea Pork
Group members made several attempts to identify the strange 'lump,' offering guesses such as 'soft coral,' 'ambergris,' 'shark excrement,' and even a whale's 'placenta.' Even Professor Sandie Degnan from the University of Queensland's School of Biological Science wasn't entirely sure, but she speculated that it was likely sea pork, a type of sea squirt related to cunjevois. Sea pork is named for its tendency to 'squirt out water,' and fishermen often eviscerate these creatures, using their innards as fishing bait.
3. 'Sea Penis'
The priapulida is one of the most peculiar sea creatures ever to wash up on any beach. Named after the Greek god Priapus, who represents 'male generative power,' this unsegmented worm's phallic shape makes it stand out. It’s rarely seen because it dwells at the ocean’s bottom.
Australian freediver Josie Jones encountered one of these worms 'on the sea floor off Rye Front Beach in Victoria,' noting that 160 species of the creature live beneath the beach’s pier. The worms' resemblance to a phallus is even more apparent when they release 'eggs and sperm into the sea.'
2. Worm Casings
The delicate tubes resemble twigs suspended in ice. These 'small, silvery filament-like objects' don't cling to tree branches but instead wash up along Oregon's shores. The discarded casings of cellophane worms (Spichaetopterus costarum), often referred to as 'tube worm casings,' are typically found here. Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium explains that these worms inhabit sandy beaches just below the low tide line, where they build their tubes, which are encrusted with sand and eventually washed ashore by the surf, currents, and upwellings.
Fawn Custer of CoastWatch notes that cellophane worms, which 'feel like hair,' are a constant presence. Under certain conditions, they are uncovered and scattered onshore by the action of waves. The tiny worms generally 'suck in their food,' which consists of bits of previously living matter, through their tubes. When their tubes are detached by the surf or currents, the worms secrete 'a kind of goo that eventually hardens into another tube.'
1. Hoodwinker
Although descriptions of the hoodwinker vary, one image stands out as most accurate: 'an enormous... floating head.' Adding 'with fins' would complete this depiction and offer a more precise representation of the creature.
In Australia, a researcher alerted marine scientist Marianne Nyegaard, suggesting that the carcass was a fish she had previously discovered and named the hoodwinker. Upon investigation, Nyegaard confirmed that it was indeed a hoodwinker, later affirming her identification through 'genetic testing.' This sunfish species, scientifically known as Mola tecta, is typically found in both 'tropical and temperate ocean' waters. Growing up to eight feet long and weighing several thousand pounds, the hoodwinker is a massive creature.
The appearance of the hoodwinker on a California beach left scientists puzzled, as this species is rarely spotted in the Northern Hemisphere. Was it an outlier? Could the hoodwinker’s newfound habit of long-distance travel be linked to the warming of the oceans due to climate change? Might 'shifts in ocean currents' be carrying its primary food, jellyfish, to new locations, prompting the hoodwinker to follow? These remain unanswered questions, adding an air of mystery to the creature’s sudden appearance.
