Viral Videos Show Tentacle-Like Growths on 'Meteorite' Found in Panama; No Scientific Verification

A series of viral social media videos showing tentacle-like growths emerging from a silvery rock found in Panama have prompted widespread curiosity and skepticism, with the person posting the clips saying the object is a meteorite that has begun to sprout an oily, moving organism.

The man, who identifies himself online as Kin, said he discovered the small, silver-colored rock in a fiery crater in the Pedregal district of Panama on Aug. 29. In videos posted to TikTok and shared across platforms, Kin shows the rock apparently burning leaves on contact and then producing dark, shiny tendrils that spread from fissures in the specimen. He said the material pulses and grows when exposed to light and that it later detached from the rock and reappeared inside a locked safe in his home.

Kin and other social media users have posted numerous clips purportedly documenting the object's behavior, including footage that shows a small crater that Kin says glows at night. The posts have been viewed millions of times and shared in multiple languages. Kin told followers he mailed small samples of the tentacle-like material to acquaintances for analysis, but he has not publicly released any laboratory results or independent tests confirming the rock's extraterrestrial origin or the biological nature of the growths.

No independent scientific group or meteorite-tracking organization has verified that a meteorite fell in the Pedregal area on the date Kin reported. Meteorite specialists typically rely on eyewitness reports, radar or infrasound detections, and recovered fragments that are examined in laboratories; none of those confirmations have been made public in this case.

Social media comment and online critics have raised multiple concerns about the authenticity of the footage and the safety of the handling shown in the videos. Some users pointed out that Kin appears to pick up the hot or burning object with bare hands while leaves nearby show burn damage, raising questions about how the rock could be handled without apparent injury. Observers also noted a clip of the crater that appeared to contain several matchsticks, suggesting the hole might have been deliberately set on fire.

Several viewers compared the footage to known terrestrial organisms. Some suggested it resembled Clathrus archeri, a fungus commonly called Devil's Fingers, which can produce finger-like red lobes. Kin's specimen, however, has been shown in videos as having multiple dark, tar-like tendrils rather than the bright red, slime-coated lobes typical of that species, and he has rejected the fungus identification in his posts.

Skeptical commenters have also questioned aspects of the footage itself. One social media user wrote that the metallic sheen “smells like paint” and flagged an apparent camera cut before a close interaction as suspicious. Others noted that iron meteorites do not perform photosynthesis and that extraordinary claims require independent laboratory verification.

Small-sample transfers and the lack of sterile or controlled handling in the videos have prompted additional criticism from online observers concerned about contamination and the possibility of misleading evidence if samples were tested without proper chain-of-custody procedures. To date, no peer-reviewed analyses, X-ray fluorescence readings, mass spectrometry data or microscopy images have been released to support the claim that the object is extraterrestrial or that the growths are an unknown life form.

Amid the online debate, some commentary has invoked broader scientific questions. A researcher commenting on the videos suggested that, if a genuine organism were discovered growing from a meteorite, it could raise questions about panspermia, the hypothesis that life can be transported between planets on space rocks. However, scientists emphasize that panspermia remains a speculative idea that would require extraordinary, rigorously verified evidence to support.

Kin has posted that he fears authorities might seize the object and that videos could be removed, urging followers to preserve the clips as evidence. No government agency has publicly confirmed contact with Kin or any intent to take possession of the specimen.

At this stage, the provenance of the rock and the identity and nature of the material growing from it remain unverified. Scientists and meteorite experts generally advise that claims of biological material in meteorites be validated through independent laboratory testing and publication in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Until such analyses are made public, the videos will remain an unconfirmed viral phenomenon circulating on social media.