During the Gulf of Mexico 2014 expedition, the team set out to explore a target suspected to be a shipwreck about 60 meters (197 feet) long. Within minutes of reaching the object, it became clear that this was not human-made, but a natural phenomenon that the team eventually nicknamed a “tar lily.” The feature was determined to be a much-unexpected flower-like extrusion of asphalt at the seafloor — the first of its kind documented in this area of the Gulf of Mexico.

From: The Asphalt Ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico.