Thousands of fish resembling penises have washed up on Drakes Beach in northern California due to the recent weather conditions, as reported by Bay Nature.

This sudden influx of so-called "penis fish" was spotted on December 6 by biologist Ivan Parr. Experts believe the fish, known as fat innkeeper worms, were essentially forced out of their underwater burrows and consequently washed up on the beach by the recent storms in the area.

The fat innkeeper worm is a type of spoon worm with a spatula-shaped limb, which helps it to feed and swim. It can live up to 25 years and spends most of its life around the seafloor. It consumes bacteria, plankton, and various other particles, which it captures using ''slime nets'' that it also eats once it has finished feeding.

The 10-inch phallic creatures, which have also been compared to sausages, are called "innkeepers" because they create burrows in mud or sand that they leave behind for other creatures to inhabit. The burrow features a sort of sand chimney which allows it to enter and exit as well as catch food.

According to the experts, there are U-shaped burrows dating back 300 million years proving the creatures have enjoyed a lengthy existence.

“I didn’t expect to see such bizarre creatures on the ground,” David Ford, who saw the creatures firsthand, told Vice's Motherboard.

“I had no idea what they might be...it went on for two miles,” Ford continued. “I walked for another half hour and they were scattered everywhere. There were seagulls lined up the beach the whole way having eaten so much they could barely stand. A quarter of them looked like they were still alive. The rest were dead, they had a dead sea-creature smell.”

Thousands of fish resembling penises have washed up on Drakes Beach in northern California due to the recent weather conditions, as reported by Bay Nature.

This sudden influx of so-called "penis fish" was spotted on December 6 by biologist Ivan Parr. Experts believe the fish, known as fat innkeeper worms, were essentially forced out of their underwater burrows and consequently washed up on the beach by the recent storms in the area.

The fat innkeeper worm is a type of spoon worm with a spatula-shaped limb, which helps it to feed and swim. It can live up to 25 years and spends most of its life around the seafloor. It consumes bacteria, plankton, and various other particles, which it captures using ''slime nets'' that it also eats once it has finished feeding.

The 10-inch phallic creatures, which have also been compared to sausages, are called "innkeepers" because they create burrows in mud or sand that they leave behind for other creatures to inhabit. The burrow features a sort of sand chimney which allows it to enter and exit as well as catch food.

According to the experts, there are U-shaped burrows dating back 300 million years proving the creatures have enjoyed a lengthy existence.

“I didn’t expect to see such bizarre creatures on the ground,” David Ford, who saw the creatures firsthand, told Vice's Motherboard.

“I had no idea what they might be...it went on for two miles,” Ford continued. “I walked for another half hour and they were scattered everywhere. There were seagulls lined up the beach the whole way having eaten so much they could barely stand. A quarter of them looked like they were still alive. The rest were dead, they had a dead sea-creature smell.”