They’ve got fucking massive spiders and snakes, sharks and crocodiles all over the shop, and now we’ve just discovered there’s also a fungus which hatches from an egg like something out of Alien.
Clathrus archeri, also known as Devil’s Fingers or octopus stinkhorn, is native to Australia and New Zealand and it looks pretty NOPE-worthy to us.
And, bad news, this monstrosity has also been found in parts of Europe and North America so you may experience it first-hand sooner than you think, even if you do avoid a trip to the land of Oz.
Before you bump into one though, you can check out this time-lapse video to see how these things emerge and really creep yourself out.
The good news is, unlike half of the other plants and animals Down Under, this tentacle-like fungus isn’t actually poisonous.
In less positive news, however, it smells like shit. More specifically, it reportedly has an odour similar to rotting flesh. Lovely stuff.
If you want to get rid of Devil’s Fingers from your land, you pretty much have to beat it with a spade or kill it with fire.
Still, don’t worry Australia, at least you’ve got all that sunny weather over there while in the UK we’re all worrying about how a bit of snow might shut down the entire country for a week!
