BEACH CREATURE OR JUST A WEIRD SEAWEED?

This time there is no golden sunset or charming French village in the post.
Today I would like to show you something different.....a "sea monster" that I found on a beach in Portugal 😄

To be honest I had no idea what it was when I saw it the first time. I didn't know if it was an animal, a plant… or maybe something from another planet. Since I am not a botanist so the only thing I could guess was that it might be some kind of seaweed.

Meanwhile the locals were walking past me, probably wondering why this strange woman was crouching in the sand, photographing some slimy thing from every point of view. 😱 😂 For them it was probably nothing special – for me it was a real curiosity.

So I started to investigate once I was back in the truck. And here is what I found out:
This creature is actually not a monster at all – it’s a brown algae called SACCORHIZA POLYSCHIDES.

Here are a few interesting facts about this species:

🟤 It is one of the largest brown algae found in the North Atlantic Ocean.
🟤 It usually attaches itself to rocks using a strong, root-like base.
🟤 The upper part floats in water, helped by air-filled bladders.
🟤 When it gets washed up on the beach, it can look like a strange animal or a sea mushroom.
🟤 In some places it's also known as “furry wrack” because of its hairy, bulbous base.

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This is the upper part of the seaweed, with its wide blade and small round air bladders. These bubbles help it float in the water.

Here you can see the long blade with wavy edges and the central stem that supports the whole structure

This is the middle section of the seaweed, where the stem branches into air bladders and twisted blades. It looks like an alien explosion but it’s just good old nature!

A close-up of the wavy blades.

These are air bladders – small gas-filled bubbles that help the seaweed stay afloat

This is the holdfast – the part that anchors the seaweed to rocks under the water.

Another look at the holdfast. It's easy to mistake it for a sea mushroom but it is actually the root-like base of the algae.

This mussel got tangled up with this seaweed. Life on the beach is full of unexpected connections.

To be honest....at first I thought I had found two different creatures – the parts looked so completely unrelated.
But after a deep investigation (hopefully correct! 😅) I realized it was just one individual with different pieces scattered by the sea along the shore.

📍Location: Atlantic coast, Portugal

@ladytruckview

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*This post is based on my own experience and original photography. AI was used for grammar correction and for supporting the translation process

STOCK PHOTOS:
https://www.shutterstock.com/pl/g/Dotka?q=SACCORHIZA%20POLYSCHIDES%20

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