Thousands of 'Penis Fish' Spotted in California beach

Thousands of fat innkeeper worms or 'penis fish' were spotted along California beach. This chubby marine worms have washed ashore off Drakes Beach and experts believed that they were forced out from their underwater homes following to the recent storm.

The penis-fish was first spotted by biologists Ivan Parr on December 6 after a storm hit the area.

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SHOOK 😳 Thousands of these marine worms—called fat innkeeper worms, or “penis fish”—were found on Drake’s Beach last week! 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 10-inch, pink sausages wiggling around just a few feet under the sand. 🙃 . . Get the full story in our new #AsktheNaturalist with @california_natural_history via link in bio! (📸: Beach photo courtesy David Ford; Worm photo by Kate Montana via iNaturalist)

A post shared by Bay Nature Magazine (@baynaturemagazine) on Dec 11, 2019 at 11:58am PST

These innkeeper worms is a type of spoon worm with a spatula-shape limb, which burrow in the muddy sand and feed on detritus.

The worms can live for up to 25 years, that could feed and swim using their spatula-shaped proboscis.


"It typically eats bacteria, plankton and other small particles which it collects using “sticky mucus nets."

Experts have found evidence of these creatures in history, as there are U-shaped burrows dating back 300 million years. 

These fat innkeeper worms are also edible, which are also famous in Asia as part of their local delicacy.