Wildlife experts are warning residents across the country that there are “alien egg pods” in the murky lake waters.
The gooey creatures, who possess the startling capacity to clone themselves, are becoming more and more noticeable and are not afraid to attract attention.
The strange gummy-looking sacs, usually connected to a branch, pier, or rock, are found underwater and appear to contain thousands of eggs growing inside.
Concerned online user queries, “What in the alien invasion is this?” in reference to a picture of the massive beast that was circulated on social media.
“My oldest son thought they were body snatchers just waiting to hatch and take our bodies,” shares a second, while a third insists, “They look like alien egg pods from outer space.”
Don’t panic
But the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife asks people to not “be alarmed” if they find these “strange jelly-like balls hanging from submerged tree limbs.”
These microbes, known as bryozoans, are “native and pose no threat to humans or wildlife.”
Dating as far back as 470 million years—older than dinosaurs—the microscopic aquatic invertebrates are no larger than 4 millimetres as individual zooids. Having both male and female reproductive organs, they “continually clone themselves until they create a large mass where they filter tiny particles out of the water for food.”
“These animals are an important part of the ecosystem because they help clean the water and serve as prey for mussels, snails, and even small fish,” the department writes, explaining that finding filter-feeding bryozoans in water is an indication of good water quality.
Bryozoans are found in every continent, except Antarctica, where water conditions are too cold, and “often spread through water connectivity or even by passing through the intestinal tract of fish or birds!”
Soft shells
Though underwater the slimy sac might look like and feel like jelly, it is actually “a soft shell made of a substance called chitin that can harden when dried up to preserve the organism until rehydrated.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compares the creatures to fragile versions of coral. “But coral builds strong, sturdy structures that last long after the animals they house have died. Bryozoans also make structures from calcium carbonate, but far more fragile ones.”
Even though they proliferate in the summer, the colonies eventually die in cooler climates, but not before releasing small egg sacs known as statoblasts that serve as a breeding ground for new colonies the next spring.
“All I can imagine is if I touched it or it touched me while in the water. I would freak out,” shares one Facebook user who was creeped out by the images.
“Great, another ick that will have me jumpy in the water,” shares a second
A third joke is they’re not really ancient invertebrates: “That’s what the government wants you to think, America!”
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