On Thursday, July 5, at their dock on the 55 Mile Marker, Sharon and Lee Mullinix spotted something strange in the water.

Sharon later described it as “an unusual creature… it looks like a big slug, or jellyfish, but it’s not shaped like a jellyfish, it’s shaped like a donut, but it’s big, like maybe a foot across.” They scooped the creature up, and called the Missouri Department of Conservation, wondering whether this kind of thing was normal or if they needed to save it for a conservationist to examine.

A neighbor said he’d seen something similar floating near his dock recently, too. The Mullinixes wondered whether it might be a freshwater jellyfish, but it seemed too big. 

Sharon called MDC Conservation Agent Tyler Brown, who told her the gelatinous mass was a bryozoan colony. According to mdc.mo.gov, (https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/bryozoans-moss-animals) bryozoans are “moss animals” that live in colonies and build exoskeletons, similar to corals. “The species that creates the round, jellylike masses is Pectinatella magnifica.” 

The bryozoan at the Mullinix dock was uncommonly large, according to the MDC. “Colonies are usually no more than 2-4 inches long or high but some can be 12 inches or wider,” the conservation agency writes.

After learning the bizarre gelatinous mass was harmless, Sharon and Lee released the bryozoans back into the Lake.

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