Nature & Environment

Weird 'alien egg sacs' pulled out of canal in the Netherlands

By T.K. Randall
October 30, 2024

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Resembling the eggs found by the crew of the Nostromo in the 1979 science-fiction horror classic Alien, these peculiar 'egg sacs' were recently discovered in the waterways of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

"This was hanging on the bottom of a floating island," volunteers who made the discovery wrote.

So what exactly are these ?

Known as water bag bryozoans, these egg-like structures are in fact colonies of tiny organisms that individually measure mere millimeters in length.The 'bags' can reach up to two meters in size and will typically be found attached to other objects.

Bryozoans are not native to the Netherlands, instead originating from the east coast of the United States. They were first discovered in Europe during the 19th century.

Though invasive, they are not thought to be harmful to the local environment.

In this case, the volunteers were simply able to put them back where they found them.

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A post shared by Stadsecologen Utrecht (@stadsecoloog.utrecht)

Source: Mail Online

Tags: Egg, Netherlands