This bizarre-looking creature was found clinging to the propeller housing of a North Sea stand-by vessel.
When coxwain Kevin Collings of Teignmouth, Devon, brought the Putford Puffin in to Hull for propeller repairs, he found a strange creature on the propeller housing he had never seen before.
He contacted The Deep in Hull, to see if anyone there could help him out.
And after a spot of research Assistant Curator Andrew McLeod solved the mystery — it's a Rabbit-eared barnacle.
Although the barnacle lives all over the world, it is not often seen and viewing the creature was a first for Mr McLeod as well as Mr Collings.
In the ocean the Rabbit-earned barnacle usually attaches itself to another species of barnacle, which in turn anchors itself on humpback whales.
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