A bearded, venomous creature has emerged on the beaches of Corpus Christi.
Prickly fireworms, also called bristle worms, washed up along the Texas Gulf Coast and beachgoers are on high alert.
The National Park Services (NPS) described the bristles as tiny, needle-like spikes, each one filled with venom, according to FOX Weather.
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“WARNING!!! Your worst nightmares are washing up right now in the form of fireworms!” the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies posted on Facebook.
“We’ve found a few of these marine polychaetes, sometimes called bristle worms, washing up over the past couple of days on large logs. The logs these were found on had gooseneck barnacles all over them, which might have been what the worms were feeding on.”
The nightmarish name for the fireworm comes from the pain inflicted when the tiny spikes are touched — a fiery pain described as lasting hours.
The bristles are filled with a mixture of neurotoxins to be used against predators.
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“Your skin can feel sensitive in the sting site for weeks depending on where it stung you,” the institute continued on its Facebook post.
“The white bristles coming off each segment of the worm are … filled with neurotoxin and they break off when you touch them.”
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If you find yourself pricked by one of the poisonous spikes on a fireworm, the NPS recommends the spike be removed with the use of adhesive tape, noted FOX Weather.
The Harte Research Institute said these gnarly creatures can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
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The fireworm feeds on a variety ofcorals, anemones and small crustaceans, such as gooseneck barnacles.
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“Would hate to step on one of these. Thank you for continuing to protect us with these important segments!” one Facebook user commented.
“I could have gone my whole life without knowing these things exist,” another user wrote.
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The Harte Research Institute is focused on the advancement of sustainability and conservation of the Gulf of Mexico since its establishment in 2001.
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