If You Could Imagine A Strange Set Of Circumstances,

where you are walking along a beach in Chile or Peru,

you should happen upon what appears to be a rock, if you cut it in half this is what you would see, many would say a new life form, a few would say an alien, but it is in fact Pyura chilensis, it does not look much from the outside but it is locally known as the living rock,

Pyura chilensis is actually a weird sea organism that lives on the rocky coast of Chile and Peru, it feeds by inhaling the sea water and filtering out edible micro algae through a pair of syphons, it has clear blood and can accumulate high quantities of a mysterious and rare element called vanadium, it’s been discovered that the blood of the Pyura chilensis contains 10 million times more vanadium than the surrounding sea water, although it’s role in the creature’s development is yet unknown,

the alien-like organism is born a male but also grows female organs over time, and breeds by releasing both eggs and sperm that meet in a fertile cloud and form tiny tadpole-like offspring that eventually settle on nearby rocks and grow into adult form, there’s really nothing quite like seeing one of these bizarre creatures sliced in half, the creature is covered in a thick layer of tunicin that helps it blend in its surroundings, it also appears that locals eat it, but I think that is one gastronomic experience I will let slide me by!