Strange, condom-like sea creatures could be B.C. bound

Described as gelatinous, phallic and potentially problematic, a strange oceanic species seems to be B.C. bound.

Media reports circulating this week point to a creature called a pyrosome showing up increasingly along the West Coast from Oregon to Alaska.

Massive Bloom of Pickle-Shaped Sea Creatures Fills the Pacific https://t.co/uNphuF6GOX One research boat caught 60,000 of them in 5 minutes! pic.twitter.com/bv8tc7Pol4

— KCTS 9 (@KCTS9) June 22, 2017

Tube-like in appearance and rubber-like in texture, pyrosomes are bioluminescent and reportedly grow in length between 10 and 60 centimetres, roughly the size of a cucumber.

 

i was gonna submit this to @meatsticksandnaturepics but not sure it qualifies as meat. . . no idea what it is tbh, found it washed up with a bunch of #valella #marinelife #marinebiology #ocean #nature #california #pacificocean #pyrosome

A post shared by @pixigoblin on Apr 19, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT

One YouTube clip shows a pyrosome being filmed off the south coast of Australia that was 10 metres in length.

Pyrosomes typically inhabit tropical waters, though recent warming currents could explain their presence this far north.

Biologists working near Oregon reportedly captured 60,000 pyrosomes in a net within five minutes earlier this year.

Pyrosomes haven’t been classified as an invasive species yet, though they do feed on zooplankton, the same source of food sought out by bottom-feeders like crab and shrimp.