Australian teen's feet, legs bloodied by mystery sea creatures

An Australian teenager who went for a swim Saturday and came out of the water with his feet and lower legs covered in blood says tiny marine creatures are to blame.

"I walked out of the water, saw what I thought was sand covering my ankles and lower calf so I just shook it off quite violently, and it came off and by the time I walked across the sand, about 20 meters to put my thongs on, I looked down and noticed that I had blood all over my ankles and feet," Kanizay said.

LINK

So apparently this young man was attacked by very small sea creatures that have not been identified...Some are saying it's sea lice however from my experience sea lice usually only eat dead animals not alive. Attacking a human swimming in a swarm type fashion is unheard of....Apparently there is a video of him catching the creatures per the article but I have yet to find it.

better link with video
link

a reply to: DaRAGE

TY sir....I know sea lice and sand fleas will eat dead meat but attacking someone alive is a first for me. I have never heard of that, not that it means a whole lot. There are a lot of things I have never heard of...

You would think the kid would feel them eating on him wouldn't you?? I feel every fish nipping at the skin on my feet when soaking in the salt water....But never actually eating me!! lol

Usually it is the sharks trying to get back at the humans for consuming fish and chips. Now the amphipods are weighing in on the battle against shrimp casserole and fried rice. Amphipods lives matter! It obviously has been organised by the People for The Etchical Treatment of Amphipods.

originally posted by: aliensanonymous
Usually it is the sharks trying to get back at the humans for consuming fish and chips. Now the amphipods are weighing in on the battle against shrimp casserole and fried rice. Amphipods lives matter! It obviously has been organised by the People for The Etchical Treatment of Amphipods.

Amphipods lives matter......I'll take two shirts please!!

One more reason not to live in australia, eh?

That place is just hostile.

Lucky fellow, they only got up past his ankles... and not up to his jimmies.

originally posted by: lordcomac
One more reason not to live in australia, eh?

That place is just hostile.

Lucky fellow, they only got up past his ankles... and not up to his jimmies.

Wow talk about being rubbed raw....That would need a little more than some gold bond to cure!!!

I wonder what his calves and feet look like AFTER they were cleaned and treated. Interested in seeing the aftermath. Maybe it will lend an insight into the gnawing/biting patterns of whatever snuggled to his skin that day.

Edit: For a 16yr old he has a lot of leg hair...now I can see why this thread was made in Cryptozoology LOL

a reply to: GuidedKill

Holy crap, I've been taking about these things on Facebook since a few months ago! I'm still confused, though. What we encountered was what was on that video yet they call them sand fleas.

Just google pictures of sand fleas and they look nothing like the second clip with them eating the steak. The ones we saw and the ones in the video look legless and maggotty but sand fleas look more like what you'd expect a flea to look like.

Why are they calling those sand fleas?

originally posted by: Abysha
a reply to: GuidedKill

Holy crap, I've been taking about these things on Facebook since a few months ago! I'm still confused, though. What we encountered was what was on that video yet they call them sand fleas.

Just google pictures of sand fleas and they look nothing like the second clip with them eating the steak. The ones we saw and the ones in the video look legless and maggotty but sand fleas look more like what you'd expect a flea to look like.

Why are they calling those sand fleas?

Perhaps an early life stage of adult sand fleas, as maggots are to flies.

a reply to: Aliensun

That was my first thought back then but even googling for "sand flea larva" doesn't show what's on that video.

The video in the article was the first time I've seen these online.

a reply to: Abysha

I think the confusion comes from different things being called "sand fleas" or in this case "beach fleas."

Some people refer to these decapods as sand fleas but they're actually decapod crustaceans (like shrimp, lobster and crabs). Full-sized, they're over an inch long and AFAIK, don't bite.

Then there are the amphipods that are referred to colloquially as "sand fleas." Some live in water, some live on land.

There are also "water fleas" which are planktonic crustaceans.

Then there are actual fleas that live in sand which are also referred to as "sand fleas." I think this is what most people are talking about when they're getting bit. In most instances, I'm thinking these are your run-of-the-mill fleas that just happen to be in a sandy area.

Then there are these "sand fleas," the smallest of any known flea (these are actual fleas — insects) according to Wikipedia, which are actually parasitic for part of their life cycle (females). The females will burrow into skin head first.

I'm guessing these are the amphipods but I didn't think they bit.

a reply to: GuidedKill

Maybe it could be a mutated species of sorts due to Fukushima??? Regardless, I stay in pools for a reason, 4 sides and a bottom is the way to go for me!

originally posted by: jhn7537
a reply to: GuidedKill

Maybe it could be a mutated species of sorts due to Fukushima??? Regardless, I stay in pools for a reason, 4 sides and a bottom is the way to go for me!

Or the run-off from Monsanto products leaching into the sea!

Mini Godzillas...and you can't see 'em comin'.

a reply to: theantediluvian

The article states (they are not amphipods)

It sounds like they don't know what they are.

Scary.

Maybe jhn is right. It's some kind of new species.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Thanks for the breakdown; that explains a lot of misnomers when friends made suggestions of what they were.

But nothing in any of those links look like what's in the video.

a reply to: Abysha

Yeah, I had looked into the whole "wtf is a sand flea?" thing a while back when I first saw a couple of the decapods on vacation and a local referred to them as a "sand fleas."

I've never seen anything quite like whatever is going on in the video let alone with that kid's legs. At least one of the videos says "sea lice" which also matches at least two of the expert suggestion in articles I found.

"Sea lice" refers to any number of larval jellyfish that can sting. They can leave a bunch of welts that look like a rash but I don't think they'd normally be drawing blood like that. The tentative hypothesis seems to be that he was standing still for a while, his legs were numb from the cold water and they had time to go to work.

Or maybe it was mutated mini-piranha!

Either way, add them to long list of things in Australia that will ruin your whole day.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Abysha

I think the confusion comes from different things being called "sand fleas" or in this case "beach fleas."

Some people refer to these decapods as sand fleas but they're actually decapod crustaceans (like shrimp, lobster and crabs). Full-sized, they're over an inch long and AFAIK, don't bite.

Then there are the amphipods that are referred to colloquially as "sand fleas." Some live in water, some live on land.

There are also "water fleas" which are planktonic crustaceans.

Then there are actual fleas that live in sand which are also referred to as "sand fleas." I think this is what most people are talking about when they're getting bit. In most instances, I'm thinking these are your run-of-the-mill fleas that just happen to be in a sandy area.

Then there are these "sand fleas," the smallest of any known flea (these are actual fleas — insects) according to Wikipedia, which are actually parasitic for part of their life cycle (females). The females will burrow into skin head first.

I'm guessing these are the amphipods but I didn't think they bit.

Very good info!! I agree they aren't what people along the coast typically call a sand flea. Sand Fleas are larger crustations that live near the waters edge under the sand. They are commonly dug up and used for bait along the coasts.





The article said they weren't amphipods so your guess is as good as mine or theirs apparently lol.

originally posted by: jhn7537
a reply to: GuidedKill

Maybe it could be a mutated species of sorts due to Fukushima??? Regardless, I stay in pools for a reason, 4 sides and a bottom is the way to go for me!

Wouldn't it be a little too early for a new species to develop from Fukushima? I mean who really knows. I for one believe the over time exposure to the radiation will result in some new species...

originally posted by: GuidedKill


Wow talk about being rubbed raw....That would need a little more than some gold bond to cure!!!

50 years ago we would just rub some dirt on it and carry on...