Mysterious, Giant Worm-Like Creature Washes up on Texas Beach

People who are afraid of the ocean should probably turn away because a new mysterious sea creature just dropped.

Julie Prejean discovered something strange on Bolivar Beach in Texas. The creature had a sort of worm-like, raggy appearance to it. Not really sure of what it was, she snapped some pics and shared them on Facebook in the Bolivar Beachcombers group.

"We had never seen anything of this size like it before along the beach, so I snapped a photo and posted it to see if anyone else could identify it," Prejean said.

Commenters were quick to share their best guess. Some humorous responses included "a whale's tampon string," "a melted poodle," "bellybutton of the sea" and "toilet paper wadded up."

One person asked, "What's it taste like?"

Several people thought it might be an umbilical cord, snakeskin, or intestines.

Prejean said she thinks it might be a shipworm after conducting some research.

A shipworm is a marine mollusk with a long body and a helmet-like appearance at one end, according to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. They are sometimes called "termites of the sea" because they use their helmet-like frames to scrape away at wooden structures. They're known for causing damage to ships, piers, and other wooden structures. They can grow up to 20 inches in tropical waters.

This is not the first time members of the Bolivar Beachcombers Facebook group have shared something mysterious on the shore. In April, Patricia Ducote shared a photo of an odd creature with teeth. Again, there were some funny guesses, such as "that thing on Monsters Inc.," and "death warmed over."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department identified the finding as "the gills and gill arches of a fish that someone probably caught and filleted."