A Plant? An Animal? What is Washing Up All Over Texas Beaches?

Texas Beaches from Galveston to Matagorda to South Padre Island have been pretty busy this spring and early summer. Sure, they've been busy with guests but they've also been busy dodging tropical storm systems, beach erosion, and the occasional influx of "What the heck is that"

If you were to make a list of "things that have washed up on a Texas beach" you'd have quite a collection of different things. Sure, there are some things you'd expect to find washed up on the sand. You know, some shells, a crab, maybe some seaweed. And in the case of some of Texas' less popular beaches, you can't rule out a diaper, some trash, and maybe some medical waste too.

But for the most part, we can identify the stuff, either natural or manmade, that shows up on the sand with the exception of the stuff you see pictured below.

Not only is this stuff washing up on beaches in Texas but folks around Holly Beach and Rutherford Beach in Louisiana have been reporting a lot of it. There are also reports of this "stuff" washing up on the beaches near Biloxi in Mississippi and Orange Beach in Alabama. And that naturally leads to this question. What is it? Is it a plant? Is it an animal? Can it hurt me?

We are not the only ones wondering about the "stuff" and here's your answer.

Now if we could just get some pastrami, some rye bread, and some Russian dressing to wash up on the beach we could have Reuben Sandwiches. But something tells me this "sauerkraut" would be harder to eat than the real sauerkraut that most of us avoid at all costs anyway.

The plant-like stuff is actually a creature. It's called Sauerkraut Bryozoa. It's an invertebrate animal that feeds on plankton. No, it can't hurt you. But, it can be uncomfortable to step on and it can certainly foul a fishing line.

It will also send shivers of shark fear up and down your spine when you happen to feel some of it brush against your leg or your back while you're swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. No, it's not painful but man is it creepy.

Experts in the ocean creatures say the "sudden" appearance of the Sauerkraut Bryozoa is not unexpected. It happens almost every summer and beachgoers should expect to see more of it over the next week or two, then its appearances along your favorite beaches will fade like the lingering daylight of a late summer day.