International Desk: A strange creature recently washed up on the shores of Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, South Australia. The 'alien-like' creature left visitors shocked and intrigued, reports Moneycontrol.com.

A local resident named Vicky Evans posted the picture of the animal on the social media Facebook page. Instantly it went viral. Comments and reactions flooded in online.

Sharing a photo of the animal, Vicky Evans wrote, 'Never seen anything like this before. Nature always presents new things to us.' As seen in the posted image, the creature looks like spaghetti or a braid of hair. Its head or mouth is filled with a gel-like substance, bound together. A bunch of spaghetti washed ashore.

According to experts, this animal belongs to the crustacean species. The name is 'Goose Barnacle'. These species usually cling to floating debris or floating structures. They have very short pairs of legs.

University of South Australia Marine Ecologist Dr. "Goose barnacles can stay ashore for a long time," Joe Doubleday told local media.

The name 'Goose Barnacle' has its roots in the Middle Ages. At that time, it was believed that migratory birds (a type of duck) lay eggs and leave them in the sea. That baby is coming up in the sea. Oysters are related to this species. They are close relatives of lobsters and crabs. The crustacean species to which it belongs is also known as persibes in Spanish or Portuguese. It is eaten cooked in several parts of Europe and North America.

It is known that these barnacles are on the menu at a village restaurant in New York. There, barnacles cost $125 per pound, which is about Tk 15,000 in Bangladeshi currency. It is the most expensive seafood known.