Bizarre ‘sunburnt blob’ is found washed up on an Australian beach – so do you know what the creature is?
- A mysterious brown creature has washed on on Kemp Beach in Yeppoon, QLD
- The ‘sunburnt blob’ is said to be a jellyfish, a blob fish or a lump of shark eggs
- But users in the Australian Native Animals Facebook group can’t decide
A mysterious brown blob has washed up on an Australian beach, baffling viewers as to what the creature could be.
A photo posted to the Australian Native Animals Facebook group on Monday shows a ‘sunburnt’ lump sitting amongst the low tide.
The unidentified animal was spotted at Kemp Beach in Yeppoon, on the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.
While users put their suggestions in identifying the creature, eagle-eyed commenters seemed to settle on it being a tomato jellyfish.
A mysterious creature has been shared to the Australian Native Animals facebook group, asking users to identify the brown lump (pictured)
The species is not deadly to humans but can give a nasty sting if touched by beach-goers.
When the jellyfish washes on to shore, it can sometimes give off a nasty odour – a natural deterrent for people to stay away.
One commenter likened the creature to former Parramatta Eels NRL player Peter Sterling, donning the animal the ‘Peter Sterling fish’ – also known as a blob fish.
‘I bet Peter Sterling loves that comparison,’ another added.
The unidentified animal (pictured) was spotted at Kemp Beach in Yeppoon, in the southern area of the Great Barrier Reef
The blob fish is a part of a family called the fathead sculpins, found in marine waters off the Indian and Pacific oceans, normally in deep waters ranging from 100 metres to 2,800 metres underwater.
A user shared an image of a brown jellyfish similar to the tomato jellyfish, which looks to be very alike to the one found in Queensland.
‘Agree – definitely a jellyfish. Looking a bit sunburnt though,’ one user added.
Another commenter who joined in on the mystery believed it looked like a shark egg casing.
Eagle-eyed users have had their say, with some saying the creature is a blob fish, while others claimed the ‘sunburnt’ lump is a jelly fish (pictured, Kemp Beach in Queensland)
A small number of sharks practice ‘internal fertilisation’, similar to the way humans reproduce with the male inset ‘claspers’ into the female’s reproductive organs.
Shark’s laying eggs outside the female’s body is called ‘oviparity’, while the normal method is ‘viviparous’ meaning the eggs develop inside the mother.
The predators’ eggs can come in all different shapes and sizes, depending on the species of the marine animals.
‘My first thought was shark egg casing. I found a bunch of weird stuff lately,’ the user wrote.
‘I thought shark egg casing too, but from what I’ve read/seen online they look more leathery?’ another added.
While the mystery is still yet to be solved, one person summed up the scenes, writing: ‘we really live on the most beautiful planet’.
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