Social media users have been left baffled after a video of a fish shaped like a woman's genitals surfaced online.

The clip was shared to Instagram, where it has since racked up over 312,000 views and hundreds of comments from people laughing over the idea it just might be the thing that keeps sailors company at sea.

In the clip, the curious brown creature can be seen opening itself up and pushing out its thoracic legs – a trait present in crustaceans whose limbs are actually attached to the thorax.

The barnacle can then be seen closing itself back up and pulling its legs back in.

The sea creature, discovered by fisherman Roman Fedortsov, 39, from Murmansk, Russia, is particularly eye-catching due to what some users say is a likeness to female anatomy.

“Is this what lonely sailors use?," asked one user.

“Seap***y,” said someone else.

“I know that chick!," quipped a third user.

“Where can I buy this sex toy?," asked another person.

According to Roman, the marine life, a barnacle sometimes referred to as a "sea acorn" thanks to its shell that resembles a closed bud, is often forgotten.

In the post's caption, he writes: "Outwardly, these animals are more like molluscs.

"Indeed, their bodies are enclosed in a calcareous hard shell, which consists of a varying number of individual plates.⁣⁣

"Four plates form a lid and can move apart due to the action of special muscles. ⁣⁣⠀

"The crustacean sticks its pectoral legs into the resulting gap.⁣"

The pectoral legs which protrude from the gap are used to catch and filter food particles from the water, help with movement and remove waste products inside the shell.

Roman added: "At the beginning of life, the larvae emerging from the eggs swim freely, being part of the plankton.

"And only after walking and growing up, they, having found suitable conditions, settle down, lie down on their backs, throw their legs up and overgrow with a shell.⁣⁣"