Pyura chilensi

Surprisingly, this strange creature isn't one of the recent, unusual finds. The earliest description of this animal, a tunicate, was made in 1782. Since it resembles a rock with intestines and blood inside of it, most people still find it to be as strange today as they did then.

The pyrua chilensi not only has a rock-like appearance, but it also behaves like one. It filters water since it is unable to move on its own and ingests bacteria while doing so. How does a rock monster that can't move reproduce? All of them are male when they are born, but as they get older, they turn into hermaphrodites and only reproduce with one another, sending sperm and eggs into the water until they collide, fertilize, and develop into new living rocks.

Despite their unsettling appearance, they are edible and can be cooked or eaten raw. Although the taste is characterized as "bitter," "iodine," and "soapy," enjoying it might be a stretch.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Stolidobranchia
Family: Pyuridae
Genus: Pyura
Species: P. chilensis