{"id":220688,"date":"2025-06-28T06:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T06:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220688\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T06:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T06:58:10","slug":"woman-picks-up-a-mermaids-purse-on-beach-then-a-tiny-face-pops-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220688\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman Picks Up A ‘Mermaid’s Purse’ On Beach \u2014 Then A Tiny Face Pops Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, wildlife photographer Brianna Varner and her boyfriend paid a visit to Florida\u2019s Pass-a-Grille Beach. The area had recently experienced some rough weather, which meant there might be something interesting washed up on shore.<\/p>\n

As Varner dug through the debris scattered over the sand, she noticed what she thought was a leaf. But when she picked it up, she felt like there was something strange about it.<\/p>\n

Brianna Varner<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just kind of staring at it, and I was like, \u2018This is kind of weirdly shaped,\u2019\u201d Varner told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

As she kept staring at the \u201cleaf,\u201d she slowly realized it was actually a mermaid\u2019s purse. Mermaid\u2019s purses are the common name for the casings that surround shark, stingray and skate eggs. Mothers deposit mermaid\u2019s purses underwater and anchor them to something on the ocean floor to keep them secure until the embryos are ready to hatch.<\/p>\n

Varner wasn\u2019t expecting the mermaid\u2019s purse to actually contain an embryo \u2014 typically, when people find the egg cases on the beach, they\u2019ve already hatched. But as she held it in her hand, she noticed it had a rounded shape and was sealed at the ends. So she decided to shine some light through it to see if there was anything inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as we held it up to the sun, we noticed that there was a little embryo in it,\u201d Varner said.<\/p>\n

Brianna Varner<\/p>\n

Varner knew the embryo wouldn\u2019t make it if its case was left to dry out on the beach. So she carefully tucked it in under the rocks in a tide pool to give it a chance to survive.<\/p>\n

As Varner kept exploring the beach, she found six or seven more mermaid\u2019s purses. Each time she found one, she placed it in a tide pool.<\/p>\n

The very last mermaid\u2019s purse Varner picked up felt different. At first, she wasn\u2019t quite sure why.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other ones kind of felt a little bit more leathery and like they had some give to them \u2026 but this one was really hard,\u201d Varner said. \u201cAnd then when we went to hold it up to the light like we had with the others, no light would get through.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Varner was carrying this embryo to the water, she started to feel it move. She realized then that the embryo was further along in its development than the others \u2014 but she didn\u2019t know quite how far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, I look down and a little mouth is looking at me,\u201d Varner said. \u201cAnd it was so jarring at first, because I was like, \u2018What am I even looking at?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As Varner tried to wrap her mind around what was happening, a baby started to emerge from the egg case. Within seconds, the tiny animal had fully come out and was ready to start swimming. There were some rough waves close to the shore, so Varner decided to carry the baby out into deeper water before letting go.<\/p>\n

Brianna Varner<\/p>\n

\u201c[I]t just immediately dropped to the sand, which is exactly what its instincts would be telling it to do,\u201d Varner said. \u201cIt was a really cool moment where I was like, \u2018Oh my God. I think it\u2019ll be OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Varner\u2019s experience with the mermaid\u2019s purse serves as a great reminder to not destroy or throw away things you don\u2019t recognize when you\u2019re at the beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that are on beaches that we don\u2019t realize are alive or important,\u201d Varner said.<\/p>\n

After some research, Varner determined that the baby who\u2019d hatched in her hand was a clearnose skate. She was honored to have witnessed the skate\u2019s first few minutes of life, and she kept the empty mermaid\u2019s purse as a memento of the unforgettable moment.<\/p>\n

To keep up with Varner and see more of her ocean discoveries, you can follow her on TikTok<\/a> or Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0\"'Kitten'<\/a>‘Kitten’ Hiding In Home During Storm Turns Out To Be Someone UnexpectedCan you guess the species? <\/a>