Hi Veeky Forums, reposting from /an/, since I've learned a lot of fascinating biology stuff here. I have a suspicion I'd like to confirm, or not. Did I just find some animal's disembodied penis?
I managed to "bruise" the middle by poking at it with a stick; bringing it to water didn't restore it, and it's noticably squishier and indented there now, like a bruised fruit. That, I think, seems to preclude this thing being part of a sex toy. Dark spots that seem like sand (or old blood?) can be seen under the surface, and compressing it squirts a little liquid clear from the flat end, likely water.
Some of this seems in line with my limited understanding of sponge tissue, but I'm surprised that it's turgid as it is without a blood supply, if is indeed a penis.
>found a disembodied penis >better post it on Veeky Forums
Jeremiah Rogers
It's translucent tho.
Zachary Long
I don't know for sure it is, I'm curious and /tgvs a good place to put stuff when you're curious.
The potential hilarity of this situation is not lost on me, though.
Kayden Turner
That's a shoggoth larva, OP.
Bentley Cooper
Yeah, /k/'s the one you want to ask about animal cocks.
Grayson Sanchez
Veeky Forums - Todger Gurus
Eli Cruz
I'm no biologist, but isn't that a cocoon of some kind?
Carter Wright
There's a central canal that water (?) squirted from when I compressed it.
If I'd been a little less hesitant to touch it I'd have checked the tip end for said canal.
Tyler Long
Well, Google says it's a larva of some kind, but it could also be a sea cucumber.
Is that mucous, or is it just wet?
And do you have a ruler or measuring device of some kind? I'd like a pic with that thing and a ruler to get a better idea of scale.
Jeremiah Evans
Willy Wikis
Adrian Allen
fun fact: most mammal penises have a bone inside called a baculum.
Colton Reyes
It's pretty dead, whatever it is.
My fingers were cold and numb, but it didn't seem unduly slippery for the moment I flung it into a stream to rinse. No tracks in the sand near it, but a tangle of beached seaweed a few feet away, if that matters. This was all on the flats. Maybe it was left when the tide receded?
I'll go find it. Maybe it's had some time to dry out.
Also captcha's getting a little too subjective for me.
Austin Wilson
Why would you assume it's a penis? It looks nothing like a dick of any animal I've ever seen and I've seen more than my fair share of animal dicks.
If you're near the ocean that could be very important information. I'd assume it's a chunk of some sort of sea squirt or sea cucumber.
Robert Brown
If it's not near an ocean maybe a chunk of lamprey or freshwater eel? They have a lot of predators.
Dominic Harris
I'll vote for sea cucumber, but not an expert or anything here.
One of the uncool ones.
Anthony Reed
Hello Friends. I AmFIne. THEre 8s no shoggotH,
But seriously, here it is. It's flattened out a bit since I left it, but the not-pointy end is still going strong. Hasn't fallen off the leaf after all the finagling I've done to get a decent picture, and neither has this sand, so there must indeed be some mucous involved.
Here it is by a quarter, which is just under an inch in diameter.
Caleb Carter
I am not good at this.
Brandon Lopez
Some sort of invertebrate animal. Maybe a tunicate or sea cucumber. I'm leaning towards those due to the sand--you find it at a beach? If not either of those, maybe a cocoon or chrysalis?
Gavin Nguyen
That quarter looks fake.
Carter Cruz
thats what the new ones look like they all have that weird sheen
Isaiah Gomez
Spoke too soon about mucous, sorry. It was just stuck with wetness. Definitely not a penis.
So those dark specks are in fact sand. I had to make incisions to get to it, so whatever pores admitted it are quite well closed.
Also of note, the severed end is noticably harder and more resistant to pressure, remaining engorged while the rest becomes floppier. I suspect the thing was kept turgid until I found it by this reflex, which held the central canal closed and full of fluid.
Also, it's shrinking. It's about 2 inches long now, and smells subtly briny, nearly rubbery like dishwashing gloves. The smell is not overwhelming, but it makes itself noticed.
Aaron Roberts
Lighting's terrible for the extent of my photography skills.
Wyatt Richardson
Was it on the leaf when you found it? If so can you remove it without damaging it?
Christopher Taylor
Nah, it was on the sand, and it's tough and rubbery.
I think that all that remains is to but it open and see how far to the tip the central canal extends. I feel that'll inform me if I have an arm or a butt here.
Storing in the fridge for now unless someone else has some ideas.