A shoal of 'penis fish' washed up on a beach in California has sent social media into meltdown.
Urechis unicinctus, more commonly known as fat innkeeper worms or penis fish, are a species of marine spoon worms.
The wrigglers are usually found in the Bohai Gulf of China and off the Korean and Japanese coasts, where they're eaten raw or cooked in a stir fry.
Thousands of the pink, phallic-looking creatures have washed up on Drake's Beach, 50 miles north of San Francisco thanks to a recent storm in Northern California .
Bay Nature Magazine shared a snap of the penis fish squirming along the shore which has since gone viral.
The post read: "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 ten-inch, pink sausages wiggling around just a few feet under the sand."
Usually living on the seabed, penis fish spend their days moving backwards and forwards in a U-shape creating a burrow, with a shell made from their own mucus.
In the United States, it's usually just seagulls who gobble on the sausage-shaped delicacy which is also used as bait for fish such as sea bream and flounder.
In just one day the post has received over 2,000 likes.
While some provided some insightful knowledge about the sea creature, others poked fun at the unusual discovery.
One follower commented: "This tastes delicious when grilled.
"It tastes better if you dip it in cho-go-chu-jang saice."
Another added: "Oh, oh.
"Someone can get pregnant there in a second!!"
A third joked: "I bet you the seagulls were having a field day."
