Locals were baffled when a bizarre-looking creature washed up on a beach in Western Australia.
An image of the creature was posted to Reddit sparking debate over what it could be.
One person suggested it was "too solid" and "too thick" to be a jellyfish. While another said the creature looked like an echinoderm or some kind of starfish.
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The creature was discovered on the beach in Broome, on the northern coast of Western Australia. It can be seen spread out in the sand with black tentacles surrounding what seems to be an inflated appendage.
"Mother and girlfriend found this on the beach today. Any idea what it is?" the Reddit user asked followers on the website.
The consensus eventually landed on the creature being a sea anemone that, perhaps, had flipped upside down after being beached on the shore.
One commenter said it's an "armed anemone", adding that it's also called the "striped anemone".
"I think you are correct," another said.
The armed anemone can indeed be found in the tropical waters off the coast of Western Australia. The creatures are known to grow up to 50cm in length.
They're understood to have a venomous sting that can be very painful for humans and it can take months to heal.
The surface of an armed anemone's tentacles end in a tip that almost looks swollen. The tentacles are cream, brown, or plain, and are striped.
Newshub.
