Huge Unknown Barnacle Covered Monster Washes Up On Beach Leaving Everyone Mystified

Life is full of unsolved mysteries that we’ll most likely never get to the bottom of. Where, for example, does that weird lint that collects in your tumble dryer come from? And why is Justin Bieber still famous?

As she was driving past Muriwai Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, Melissa Doubleday discovered an unsolved mystery of her own. From her car, she spotted from a distance what appeared to be the closely-related cousin of the flying spaghetti monster, and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

 Was it a new kind of previously undiscovered sea creature? An alien monster beamed to Earth from the skies? Lady Gaga’s newest awards show outfit? Doubleday told stuff.co.nz: “I actually thought it was a washed up whale as I approached it, so weird.”

In a bid to try and get to the bottom of the marine mystery, she posted the image of this curious object on the Muriwai & Waimauku Area Community Group Facebook page asking for help trying to figure out what on Earth the bizarre object was.

 Nearly 100 people responded, with suggestions ranging from a Maori canoe, a time capsule, a walrus, an alien pod, to a beached Christmas tree. However, as with most of life’s mysteries, there was a pretty basic explanation.

So what’s the real explanation for this otherworldly object? It turns out that it’s actually just a piece of driftwood covered in creatures known as gooseneck barnacles. Gooseneck barnacles are filter-feeding crustaceans that permanently attach themselves to hard surfaces like rock or driftwood.

In Spain and Portugal, the barnacles are considered an expensive delicacy, with some fisherman risking their lives trying to catch them on jagged rocks.

This isn’t the first time a bizarre-looking creature has washed up on our shores. Who remembers the mysterious American goo ball invasion of 2015? I don’t know about you, but I for one will #NeverForget.