An Australian beachgoer said she was “stung, burnt” and left with “a bunch of tiny little spikes” in her foot, which required a tweezer to remove, after she “touched” a bizarre marine creature found washed up on the sand.
The Melbourne woman was at Torquay Beach, south of Geelong in Victoria, this week when she made the baffling discovery. “It was washed up on shore and was about the size of my fist. It was flat and had the consistency of a mammal’s stomach, not jelly-like. [It] just looked like stretchy skin to be honest,” she wrote online.
“I didn’t mean to touch it, but I did and then the pain started. It was a tingle at first, then it stung and then it burnt.” The woman said, eventually it took some time to remove all of the little “hairs” the creature produced from her foot.
Yahoo News Australia asked a number of marine biologists what they thought the species in question was. Many were unable to identify its origins due to its decomposed state. But eventually, Dr Sheridan Rabbitt, senior project officer at Queensland’s Centre for Marine Science, was able to solve the mystery.
She told Yahoo that after speaking with her colleague, Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts, “we both agree that based on the description, it’s a marine bristle worm”.
“The image looks quite odd, but we’re pretty confident that’s what it is. Ian said that given the shape, his best guess would be an aphroditid polychaete. Fishers know them as sea mice.” Rabbitt said she “absolutely would advise” the public “not to touch these”. “They are incredibly painful,” she warned.
Sea mice, a type of marine bristle worm, should be avoided when seen, experts urge. Their ‘fur’ is known to be quite painful. Source: Source: Atlas of Living Australia
What are sea mice and where are they found?
Sea mice are widespread in Australia, particularly in coastal waters along the eastern seaboard. They are commonly found under rocks, on coastal platforms, or on dead coral in sandy reef flats.
They are known for their stout, segmented bodies covered in iridescent bristles that resemble fur. Slow-moving, sea mice rely on their bristles for protection and camouflage. Their “fur” is made of brittle calcium carbonate spikes, which can break off and cause extremely painful stings when handled by people. They are carnivores and feed on small invertebrates like crustaceans and worms.
Online, people were puzzled by what they saw in front of them. “Why does it look like a placenta,” one person wrote. “Love Australian creatures — so random and dangerous,” said another.
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