Mysterious Tongue-Shaped Sea Creature Baffles Beachgoers, Experts Identify Species

A woman walking on a beach in Australia was baffled to see a tongue-shaped sea creature that was washed up on the shore.

Catherine Nguyen was staying at Tangalooma Resort, on Queensland's Moreton Island, when she came across the creature.

Nguyen saw the bloated fish-like animal on the sand and quickly took some pictures to find out its identity. The images were sent to the experts at the Queensland Museum, who confirmed the mysterious sea creature was an Obese Sea Pen (Cavernularia obesa).

Other common names for the animal include fat sea pen, hair sea pen, obese sea finger, octocoral, sea cactus, sea feather, sea finger and sea quill. This creature has eight stinging tentacles which it uses to protect itself and capture food.

ABC Brisbane posted Nguyen's find on their Facebook page Thursday night. One user commented the creature looked "more like a mermaid's tongue to me," while another person suggested the creature should be renamed "sea sausage."

There have been several instances in the past where mysterious creatures have washed up on shores. Some were identified while others perplexed experts.

Last month, a bizarre-looking sea creature washed up on the shore of a beach in Texas, baffling experts. The Texas Parks and Wildlife shared a video on its Facebook page, which showed the creature squirming on the palm of a person.

The video, which was posted on Oct. 1, went viral as users tried to identify the slimy blob-like creature.

“What is this that we found in the Laguna Madre?” the park asked people while sharing the video.

One user responded by saying the creature seemed to be straight out of the Netflix series "Stranger Things." Another user wrote: "This would scar me for life if I just randomly found one. I had no idea they existed!"

The Coastal Fisheries - Texas Parks and Wildlife later said that the creature was a sea hare.

In another incident, a mysterious creature washed up on the shore of a beach in Texas. The image of the creature was taken by a Padre Island National Seashore visitor. It showed the long, slender creature lying on the sand. Initially, officials said it could be a Texas blind snake. The park later said they found there was a species called snake-eels.