Look what washed up on Drakes Beach!
In early December 2019, thousands of Fat Innkeeper worms (Urechis caupo), a type of spoonworm (Echiuroidea) washed up on Drakes Beach during a winter storm. These worms bear an uncanny resemblance to a human penis and are in fact called “penis fish”. I can’t believe I missed this! I volunteer for the Marin Marine Protected Area Watch so I’m at Drakes Beach regularly. As soon as I saw the article in Bay Nature, I grabbed my husband and son and drove to the beach in search of them. Sadly, we found none. They had all been eaten, burrowed back into the sand, or been washed back out to sea. I thought surely we would find ONE! The article didn’t indicate exactly where the worms landed and Drakes Beach divides into two sections from the parking lot entrance — east and west. On my first attempt on December 14, the high tides prevented me from getting onto most of the beach to explore. On my second attempt on December 23, the tides were low and I explored both sides of the beach but without success. Based on the amount of seaweed washed up on shore in the photo, I believe the worms may have been on the west side. Ivan Parr’s article in Bay Nature with a photo by David Ford is both humorously written and informative — a must read!
photo by David Ford