Nature is sometimes exceptional and hides secrets that we can’t even guess.
What is the object in the picture? Its name is Pyura Chilensis and it lives on the coast of Chile and Peru. From the outside, it looks like an unusual stone covered with mollusks, but researchers have found that it is a living organism.
This creature is born male and then develops female organs and reproduces with itself, which means that it is a hermaphroditic organism. Inside it is a liquid that resembles a mug and contains a metal called vanadium.
If someone confuses this creature with a stone and sits on it, it will crack, break, and a strange blood-like liquid will flow from it.
Inside the living stone, there is a mass of organs surrounded by a layer of skin and muscles. This layer is called a filter, because the creature inhales seawater, feeds on algae and microorganisms in it, and then removes water back into the sea.
In some places its meat is considered a delicacy, it is canned after being cut into strips, and it can be eaten raw or cooked. It is also exported mainly to Sweden and Japan. Due to the high level of vanadium, many people think that the consumption of this organism by humans is dangerous.
Here’s what her organs look like:
And how they are cooked:
