This bizarre blue blob washed up on a beach on the Gold Coast of Australia. Its florescent colors and ambiguous shape make it seem like something from a fantasy film, but this is no alien.
This blue sea slug, officially known as “Glaucus atlanticus”, is also known by a variety of nicknames, such as the sea swallow, blue angel, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug.
This out-of-this-world creature may be small and beautiful, but don’t be fooled: this little creature packs a punch. The blue dragon has the ability to inflict a painful, venomous sting if threatened.
Powerful, Deadly Venom
This blue sea slug gains its venom by eating the venomous organism known as the Portuguese Man O’ War (Physalia physalis), which is an extremely venomous jellyfish-like creature that possesses a painful sting known to kill large fish as well as humans.
The blue dragon is immune to this venom and actually stores the venom from the Man o’ Wars for its own use. Once they ingest the Man O’ War, it siphons off the stinging cells and concentrating the venom. This concentrated venom allows it to deliver an even more painful sting than that of the feared Man o’ War.via Gfycat
The sea slug has a gas-filled sac that it uses to float on the surface of the ocean, and spends most of its time riding the currents.
Watch the video of one that washed into shore during low tide:
Another video:
The Glaucus Atlanticus is a type of nudibranch, a group of soft-bodied, marine molluscs that come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and boast magnificent colors. Their extreme coloration is a way to defend themselves from potential predators since they long ago evolved out of their shells.
Nudibranch actually means “naked gills” and their choice of habitat is as diverse as their bodies – they can be found in shallow tidal pools to the deepest ocean depths.
Berghia coerulescens. Image: Parent Géry
Check out the rare Pikachu nudibranch (Thecacera pacifica):
Source: https://roaring.earth
