Marine worms called "pe*nis fish"
Marine worms called "pe*nis fish", because of their shape and color, appeared on a beach in California (United States), after a strong winter storm lifted the sand where they live and left them uncovered.
The "penis fish" or "fat roosting worm" digs U-shaped burrows in the sand.
In countries such as Korea, Japan and China, it is a delicacy and usually eaten raw or grilled with salt and sesame oil or with a spicy sauce called gochujang.
Thousands of creatures resembling penises have washed up on a beach in California.
The pulsating creatures are fat innkeeper worms, or Urechis caupo.
Although they are a type of worm, they are widely referred to as the "penis fish".
The worms bury themselves deep beneath the sand, but recent storms have uprooted them and Drakes Beach, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, has been covered in the creatures.
"Yes, the physical design of the fat innkeeper worm has some explaining to do. But the fat innkeeper is perfectly shaped for a life spent underground," wrote biologist Ivan Parr.
There is fossil evidence of the creatures dating back 300 million years and some live for up to 25 years, he added.
Within a beach, the creatures will dig a U-shaped burrows extending several feet long.
Their more polite nickname - innkeeper worm - comes from this subterranean lifestyle and the tunnels they create for other animals as they burrow underground.
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