UFOs on Sydney beach? 'Alien eggs' wash up on the sand

Updated
Strange green balls wash up on beach in Sydney
Strange green balls wash up on beach in Sydney



A host of green balls washed up on a Sydney beach last week - prompting locals and tourists to question just exactly what they are.

Dee Why beach was covered in the weird-looking 'alien' spheres, which many described as 'alien hairballs', 'alien eggs' and even UFOs.

Of course, a number of people went online to share pictures of the strange scene.

One wrote: "Power of three situation at the beach - the whole beach is covered in perfectly round balls of algae. weird."



While another said: "What are these little green balls that are strewn all along #deewhybeach? they're so pretty. Had a wild and windy walk yesterday..."




So what actually are they? Speaking to Yahoo 7, Professor Alistair Poore, of The University of New South Wales (UNSW), explains: "They're actually a really unusual growth form of seaweed, because seaweeds mostly grow on the rocks but occasionally they get knocked off and rolled around in the ocean forming these beautiful little balls.

"It's quite an unusual phenomenon, it's only been seen a handful of times around the world."



Speaking to the Daily Mail, local resident Scarlett de Villiers said she saw the weird balls on her regular morning beach walk, and said: "It was a windy day with a very high tide. I picked one up and squeezed it and it was so squishy - but I wasn't sure if it was alive and was worried I might hurt anything inside!

"'It struck me how perfectly shaped they all were and how green and alive they looked."

The living organisms are known in Japan as 'Marumo' and Cladophora ball or Lake ball in English, and are sometimes found in freshwater lakes in the Northern Hemisphere.

The phenomenon is known as 'aegagropilious', which describes the habit of free living algae (algae not attached to rocks) forming into balls.

They wash ashore with rough waves and warm weather conditions.





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