Penis fish wash up on to a beach in California.



Fish dicks, anyone? Most people will go their whole lives without knowing about the existence of "penis fish." Well, for those of you reading this, your life will be forever enriched by knowing that these magical creatures in fact exist. Oh yeah, they also apparently have golden butt spines.








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SHOOK ???? Thousands of these marine worms—called fat innkeeper worms, or “penis fish”—were found on Drake’s Beach last week! These phallic organisms are quite common along the West coast of North America, but they spend their whole lives in U-shaped burrows under the sand, so few beachgoers are aware of their existence. ????? A recent storm in Northern California brought strong waves that washed away several feet of sand from the intertidal zone, leaving all these fat innkeeper worms exposed on the surface. ???? Next time you go to the beach, just think about the hundreds of 10-inch, pink sausages wiggling around just a few feet under the sand. ???? . . Get the full story in our new #AsktheNaturalist with @california_natural_history via link in bio! (????: Beach photo courtesy David Ford; Worm photo by Kate Montana via iNaturalist)

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Penis fish, also know as fat innkeeper worms, are actually quite common along the west coast, however, they spend their whole lives living a few feet below the sand so hardly anyone ever sees them. A powerful storm washed and blew away their cover this week, leaving thousands to pulsate and wiggle around on Drakes Beach, which is around 50 miles north of San Francisco. 


Twitter had quite a day with this news as you would expect. Here are some of the reactions to "penis fish."