A TERRIFYING alien-like sea creature was spotted by whale watchers who claimed the beast was something straight out of “Twilight Zone”.
The group of wildlife buffs were stunned to see the “nightmare” creature that was found washed up on a beach in California.
Shocking footage of the bizarre creature is now going viral on the internet, having racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
What the viewers saw was a deadly-looking American bloodworm that looked exceptionally large.
The beast, which is usually found in the sea, was put back in water by members of the Monterey Bay Whale Watch group.
One member said: “We found it just hanging out on our dock this morning and we gently scooped it up with some cardboard and carefully put it back in the water.”
Baffled social media users flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts on the weird animal, comparing it to human intestines.
One person joked: “Hey that’s my lower digestive system.”
Another user said: “I’ll never unsee that.”
A third person quipped: “Starting the day off right with some nightmares.”
While a fourth user shared: “I never needed to see that. Looks like intestines with a face.
“I wish I had not read this. Yuk!”
Other users likened it to aliens, a large intestine colon, and the “stuff of nightmares”.
AMERICAN bloodworms are free-swimming creatures found in shallow marine environments.
They can grow up to fourteen inches, while can grow bigger in exceptional cases.
Their jaws are made of copper crystals, and are so hardy that a single set can last a lifetime
These worms catch their prey by projecting a toothed proboscis out of their mouth
They then inject a copper-based venom through the teeth which then kills the prey
Bloodworms undergo a metamorphosis during reproduction – they quickly swim up to the surface of the water where they lay eggs and then die
It comes after an unknown deep sea squid was seen carrying translucent eggs leading to experts uncovering clues of a new species.
The stunning deep-sea squid first captured the fascination of researchers when it was recorded cradling giant eggs in 2015 – something they had never seen before.
Steven Haddock, a senior scientist and expedition leader at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute said: “Our unexpected encounter with a squid brooding giant eggs caught the attention of everyone in the ship’s control room”
“This remarkable sighting underscores the diversity of ways that animals adapt to the unique challenges of living in the deep.”
Meanwhile, a gigantic rat emerged on the Subway in New York, trapped beneath a door before mysteriously vanishing into thin air.
The revolting sight alarmed commuters as the rodent appeared to be replaced with a similar terrifying creature.
In a 27-second-long clip that was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, the pesky rodent appears the size of a small dog.
The pale rat lies spreadeagled as the social media user zooms in on the animal, which initially seems to be dead or in poor health.
Around five seconds in, it suddenly jerks and escapes, swallowed whole by the wall in an eerie disappearance.
Ten seconds later, the nose of another creature starts to peek through.
Once it becomes fully visible, it is obvious that it is a different beast, perhaps not even a rodent.
The grim, grainy footage recently resurfaced on X after the mystery rat exchange was spotted back in 2020.
Users speculated that the sickly rat was “swept away by an even bigger rat,” while others mocked New York City’s perceived squalor.
Others think the original rat was simply dragged into the dirty Subway gap by an even bigger rodent.
The carnivorous worms can grow up to 35 cm (14 in) in length.
They feed by extending a large nose that has four hollow jaws, which are connected to glands that supply venom which they use to kill their prey – and their bite is painful even to a human.
OCEANS and water make up around 71 per cent of the Earth's surface with almost all of that being left untouched by humans.
Only a fraction of deep sea creatures are believed to have been discovered.
This has led to millions of marine life being left undiscovered.
Scientists predict up to two million different species swim around in the ocean with only 250,000 of these being found so far, say the World Register of Marine Species.
Some of the weirdest creatures ever discovered include the gelatinous “gummy squirrel” sea cucumbers, colourful polychaete worms, pink see-through fantasias, Christmas tree worms and even a large group of leafy seadragons.
Part of the huge problem stems from research team’s poor ability to search the ocean floor due to how deep it is in some parts of the world.
Zero visibility far down and extreme temperatures mean technology needs to catch up before the ocean can fully be explored.
