Melbourne, Aug 7 (IANS): An Australian teenager has been hospitalised after his legs were mauled by tiny marine creatures at a beach in Victoria state, officials said on Monday.

Sam Kanizay, 16, had played a game of football on Saturday and afterwards decided to take a dip at a beach in Brighton, Melbourne, reports Xinhua news agency.

When Sam emerged from the water, he thought he still had sand on his legs, so he went back in, only to be attacked by the tiny little sea creatures, his father Jarrod Kanizay told the media on Monday.

Sam's legs started to bleed profusely when he got out of the water the second time.

"He went back to his shoes and what he found was blood on his legs, they ate through Sam's skin and made it bleed profusely," Jarrod Kanizay.

After taking his son to the hospital, Jarrod Kanizay said that despite the initial treatment, his son continued to be affected by whatever it was that was attacking his legs.

"As soon as we wiped them down, they kept bleeding, there was a massive pool of blood on the floor. 

"No one knows what the creatures are. They've called a number of people, whether it's toxicity experts, or marine experts, and other medics around Melbourne at least - no one (knows)."

This prompted the concerned father to return to the beach armed with fresh meat and a wet suit, and he captured some of the creatures, with some speculating that they are in fact a variety of sea lice.