'Phallic fish' wash up on California shore

The worms are described to be approximately 25 centimeters in length and "pulsing."

DECEMBER 14, 2019 19:01

Live gaebul (AKA 'phallic' fish) sold at a fish market at Busan, South Korea (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons) — Live gaebul (AKA 'phallic' fish) sold at a fish market at Busan, South Korea

(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Whoever was sunbathing off the coast of Northern California was stunned to find this past weekend a swarm of phallic-looking ocean worms washed up ashore.

Thousands of 'penis fish' wash onto California beach https://t.co/9bn6LUIWPE pic.twitter.com/hmOnds5MBw
— New York Post (@nypost) December 12, 2019

A storm in Drakes Beach, located north of San Francisco, brought up these strange-looking oceanic worms, which date back over 300 million years, and which were buried under the sand, according to ABC News.

"Yes, the physical design of the fat innkeeper worm has some explaining to do," wrote Biologist Ivan Parr in Bay Nature magazine of the worm, which is native to Northern California.

This may just be the weirdest thing you've seen today! Thousands of these marine worms, called fat innkeeper worms—or "penis fish"—washed up on Drake's Beach after a recent storm. But why? https://t.co/MwY6xkN3kb pic.twitter.com/vGMpSvGoAT
— Bay Nature magazine (@BayNature) December 11, 2019

The worms are described to be approximately 25 centimeters in length and "pulsing," according to Parr. They suck plankton and bacteria into their "burrow," which are later eaten by clams, shrim and crabs that live there. They are often eaten by seagulls, otters and sharks.