Pictures of a slimy, pink and half developed creature said to have been found in a woman’s backyard have caused a frenzy of speculation about its origin.

The pH๏τograph appears to have first surfaced on Facebook, before it was reposted on Reddit, where users began a long discussion of what exactly it was.

Labelled an ‘alien’, ‘facehugger’ or simply a partially developed animal fetus, internet users have spent the past few days feverishly questioning what it could be.

PH๏τographs of the pink, slimy-looking creature lead to frenzied speculation it was an ‘alien’ or ‘facehugger’ as popularised in the Ridley Scott science fiction films

Gianna Peponis, from California, posted images of the creature, stating: ‘I wasn’t gunna [sic] post this but I can’t stop trying to figure out wtf this thing is.

‘I heard something scream at like 11.30 last night and went out on my side yard and found this thing.

‘It was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ when I found it… Share with your friends.’

The images were originally posted on Facebook by Californian woman Gianna Peponis

The pH๏τograph was then reposted on Reddit, where many users offered suggestions about what it was.

One Reddit user wrote it was ‘clearly an alien’, while another said it was ‘definitely a facehugger’ – the name of the creatures from the Ridley Scott Alien films known for latching onto victims’ faces.

User LollyMac simply wrote: ‘I don’t know what the **** that is. If your friend is brave enough to remove it from their property, remind them to salt the ground afterwards. Nothing good can ever happen there now.’

However, many other users offered more considered responses.

Posting a pH๏τograph of a fully intact deer fetus for comparison, one wrote: ‘It’s half of a deer fetus which has been chewed on by scavengers/predators.

‘For reference here is what an intact deer fetus looks like, imagine if you cut the back end and part of its nose off.’

Another explained: ‘Hoofed animals can freak out and drop a fetus, amniotic sack and all, when scared. Or maybe it was a still 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡. Either way, dinner is on mother nature tonight!’