Featured Image Credit: Greg Rouse
Topics: Animals, News, Weird, World News
Rhiannon Ingle
Anyone who is into their sci-fi will probably have an image of the spine-chilling facehugger from Alien seared permanently into their minds forever.
But, what would you do if I told you marine biologists have found something of a real-life facehugger lurking in the frozen depths of Antarctica?
Well, brace yourself for some unsettling snaps as a frightening new species of sea monster with 20 arms has been discovered and its got a pretty bizarre name to match its equally odd appearance.
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It all started when a group of scientists embarked on a series of expeditions through the Southern Ocean between 2008 and 2017.
The whole purpose of the mission was to hunt for 'cryptic' sea animals known as Promachocrinus if you're fancy, and Antarctic feather stars if you're not.
Although more similar to other invertebrates like starfish and sea cucumbers, the creatures - which sport an 'otherworldly appearance' when swimming - are 'large' in size and can live up to 6,500 feet below the water's surface.
On the expedition, the group found eight totally unique species on their mission, including four which have never before been named by scientists.
One of which has been named Promachocrinus fragarius, or the Antarctic strawberry feather star.
Sounds weirdly quite pretty considering its appearance is akin to the creature from the Alien movie.
The creatures were named after their 'strawberry-like' body from which 20 spindly arms branch off.
Photos of the feather star show that the creature appears to have two different types of arms; the lower ones look slightly thinner and shorter with stripes while the others appear to be longer and feathered.
The team noted that the Antarctic strawberry feather star can also range in its coloring - from 'purplish' all the way to 'dark reddish'.
The findings were published last month (14 July) in the peer-reviewed journal Invertebrate Systematics.
The research team for the discovery included Emily McLaughlin, Nerida Wilson and Greg Rouse who identified the Antarctic strawberry feather star as a new species based on its body shape and DNA analysis.
Understandably, the news has left quite the impression on the world with many rushing to social media to share their reactions to the incredible discovery.
One Facebook user penned: "This is terrifying."
A second joked: "It looks like the creature from the first Alien movie when it came out of its egg."
"Yeah I've seen that movie, please leave it frozen," echoed a third.
"Alien's living under the ice," claimed a fourth.
A final Facebook user quipped: "Weirdest strawberry I've even seen."
That's for sure.