How large would a slug have to grow in size before you were convinced it was either a.) an actual mutant or b.) a creature from an alien planet? Just yesterday I would have answered that question by saying any slug over a foot in length would have been enough to set my imagination off and running. However, that was before I got a glimpse of this very real, very earth-born, very large black sea slug that can be found off the California coast.

We first came across this video from the YouTube channel Brave Wilderness over at LaughingSquid, and in this episode host Coyote Peterson was joined by tide pool expert Aron Sanchez in search of the massive Black Sea Hare, the “largest sea slug on the planet.”

The slugs come to the shores of the Pacific coast in California “in abundance” to lay their eggs, and they can grow to nearly three feet in size and up to 30 pounds in weight. As Peterson noted, they are even slimier than they look, so even though they might be safe to pick up (they don’t bite and they aren’t toxic), you might not want to if you suffer from a severe case of “ickyness.”

I can’t stop staring at this thing. I mean, it’s not only huge, as though it spent some time under some gamma rays or in a vat of toxic waste, it’s also so dark in color. Everything about this looks like it was imagined by a science fiction writer, and not like a real creature swimming around the Pacific.

But not only are they real, they are spectacular…even if they are slimy.

How does this giant slug compare to some other incredible animals out there? Tell us some of your other favorite unusual creatures by swimming in to our comments below.

Images: Brave Wilderness