A distinctive and ‘unmistakable’ seafood has washed up on a Hampshire beach - much to the surprise of the woman who discovered it.
Lanisha Butterfield was walking along Milford-on-Sea beach with her family when she stumbled upon the mysterious object.
The 30-year-old communications manager said she’s “never seen anything like them on any beach in this country or otherwise.”
She said: “They looked almost otherworldly and from a different time, so my sister and I were very curious about them when we found them.
“I walked up to have a closer look and when I gently touched one, it moved back, which made me realise they were alive.
“We just took the picture and left. It was only when we got back to my eldest nephew Morgan, who is a huge nature buff, that I found out what they really were.
“He immediately identified them as goose barnacles.”
READ MORE: 'Alien-looking' delicacy worth 'thousands of pounds' washes up on beach
Lanisha added: “It was only when I saw on the news this week that they are rare to see here, and I really realised what we had found and was glad to have taken the pictures.”
Experts from the Hampshire Wildlife Trust said goose barnacles are “unmistakable” and often wash up on west and south-west coasts of the UK, especially after storms.
A spokesperson said: “Barnacles are a type of crustacean, related to crabs and lobsters.
“Goose barnacles filter feed on plankton and detritus, capturing it from the water with their specially adapted legs. In many places in the world they are a delicacy.”
The barnacles live attached to rocks, ships, ropes or flotsam floating out at sea, and they have a long fleshy stem that looks like a black neck.
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