Officials urge not to be “alarmed” after discovering a mysterious “alien egg pod” in an Oklahoma lake

Residents are being alerted by wildlife experts to the presence of “alien egg pods” in the murky lake waters throughout the United States. The gooey creatures, who possess the startling capacity to clone themselves, are becoming more and more noticeable and are not afraid to attract attention.

Images of “jelly-like balls” being removed from water systems, such as rivers and lakes, have gone viral on social media.

The strange gummy-looking sacs, usually connected to a branch, pier, or rock, are found underwater and appear to contain thousands of eggs growing inside.

Concerned online user queries, “What in the alien invasion is this?” in reference to a picture of the massive beast that was circulated on social media.

One person says, “My oldest son thought they were body snatchers just waiting to hatch and take our bodies,” another person says, “They look like alien egg pods from outer space,” and a third person concurs.

But in the event that someone discovers these “strange jelly-like balls hanging from submerged tree limbs,” the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife advises them not to “be alarmed.” These microbes, known as bryozoans, are “native and pose no threat to humans or wildlife.”

These microscopic aquatic creatures, which date back up to 470 million years and are older than dinosaurs, are just 4 millimetres in size as solitary zooids.

They “continually clone themselves until they create a large mass where they filter tiny particles out of the water for food,” since they have both male and female reproductive systems. According to the department, the presence of filter-feeding bryozoans in water is a sign of high water quality. “These animals are an important part of the ecosystem because they help clean the water and serve as prey for mussels, snails, and even small fish,” the government notes.

With the exception of Antarctica, where the water is too cold, bryozoans are present on every continent. They “frequently spread through water connectivity or even by passing through the intestinal tract of fish or birds!”

The slimy sac appears and feels like jelly underwater, but it’s actually “a soft shell made of a substance called chitin that can harden when dried up to preserve the organism until rehydrated,” according to the description. The animals are likened to delicate forms of coral by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, coral creates robust, long-lasting structures that survive long after the animals they support have passed away. Calcium carbonate is also used by bryozoans to create structures, albeit much more delicate ones.

Even though they proliferate in the summer, the colonies eventually die in cooler climates, but not before releasing small egg sacs known as statoblasts that serve as a breeding ground for new colonies the next spring. “The only thing that comes to mind is whether I touched it or if it touched me in the water.

I would freak out,” a Facebook user who found the pictures unsettling says. Another person says, “Great, another ick that will have me jumpy in the water.” They’re not actually ancient invertebrates, quips a third: “America, that’s what the government wants you to think!” Have you ever discovered these animals in nearby bodies of water?