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Photo: Collaroy Beach, Sydney, February 1987.
4cm long alive. Photographed from above to show
the modified foot. Note: as these animals float
upside down, their foot is always dorsal.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 1998-2010
Source: Sea Slug Forum
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This is a picture of what is commonly known as a Blue Dragon, Blue Sea Slug, or a Sea Swallow. It's scientific name is Glaucus atlanticus. This little creature, which typically grows between 5 to 8 cm in length, can be found living in the oceans near the East and South Coast of South Africa, on the east coast of Australia and Mozambique, and also in European waters (Strange Animals).
Glaucus atlanticus "is a planktonic animal that belongs to the oceanic group known as Nudibranches, that is also thought of as an "unusual" group of molluscs. Molluscs have muscular feet and rhinopores; the term for their tentacles - what is noticeably different about the Glaucus to a mollusc is that it does not have a shell. It is planktonic because it feeds off of microscopic organisms such as protozoans or algae. The Blue Sea Slug also feeds on nematocysts (stinging cells) and the most dangerous type of them as well", the poisonous Portuguese Man O' War (Environmental Graffiti).
"One of the most unique things about this animal is the way that it floats. Glaucus atlanticus do indeed float upside-down. Its dorsal surface (backside) is actually it's "foot" and belly and is either blue or blue and white in coloration. The true dorsal surface of the Blue Dragon is a silvery-greyish color. Both colorations on each side help camouflage and protect the G. atlanticus from both underwater and aerial predators alike" (Environmental Graffiti).
To find out more about this amazing little sea creature, check out these web pages:
http://www.strangeanimals.info/2011/06/glaucus-atlanticus.html
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-strange-yet-beautiful-sea-slug-glaucus-atlanticus
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=glauatla
Hi Roseann, I decided to comment on your blog since you chose a non conventional "cool critter". At first viewing the image of the Blue Dragon I assumed it was a critter that crawled on land or possibly flew, like an insect however I was very surprised when you said it was a sea creature. I also liked how you included a video so we can see this critter in action! I was surprised about the size of this creature. I assumed it would be about 5 to 8 inches not centimeters, wow that is very small!Good job on your blog and post!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison. I was surprised to see how small this creature is as well. It is amazing that something so tiny can be so detailed. Thanks for your comments.
DeleteHey Roseann-
ReplyDeleteFirst off I have never heard of this animal so you did a good job finding an "exotic" one. When I first saw the picture it was so vibrant and bright that I just had to read more about it. I thought it was interesting that it does float upside down you would think it would run into other things a lot. It was astonishing to learn that this critter is so small the picture makes it look bigger. Good post and your blog is very pretty I like the flower background
Hi Jordyn. Sea creatures are pretty amazing. There are so many different types, and they seem to camouflage themselves in so many different ways.
DeleteThanks for your nice comments. I enjoy quilting and the background that I chose reminds me of quilting fabric. I love putting colors together and I like the way the background looks with the vibrant blue of my creature. I will have to work hard to have all of my posts "match" as well. :-)
The first time I saw these I was like "whoa that's amazing". I agree with Jordyn I thought they would be bigger and with all those finger like things I would have thought they moved faster. Great choice on the Cool Critter. I also noticed that most cool critters come from or around Africa. I wonder why that is?
ReplyDeleteRoseann,
ReplyDeleteI like the critter you chose. I don't think it looks like a sea slug, though. It just looks like an exotic fish. It's actually quite beautiful, especially in the photo that you have on your page. It looks really bright, almost neon in the photo. Does the Blue Dragon have a glow or is it that just the photo? That would be facsinating if it glowed! It's hard to believe that they only grow up to 8cm in length..he looks so much bigger in the video! Great blog, and loved that you included a video!
-Megan
Hi Megan. I don't think it looks like a slug either. Wouldn't we be surprised if our land slugs looked like this? It certainly is a very vibrant color. I didn't read anywhere that it actually glows, but it looks as though it could in the picture anyway.
DeleteThank you for your comments.
This is awesome! Roseann, you did a great job of finding a unique and COOL critter to post about. I can honestly say I have never seen anything like this little guy. I, too, thought at first glance that it might fly or something like that because of the way its 'fingers' are sprawled apart; I would not be surprised if you had said it was some kind of flying insect that floated or moved on the surface of water. But no, it's a sea slug! How cool is that! This little guys is small but powerful! They are only 3cm long and yet has highly venomous 'nematocysts' stored in its 'fingers'. Wow. I do not want to mess with this creature. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison. Thank you for your comments. Yes, it is a deadly little thing, isn't it? I read that it can store the venom from it's prey and then use it later itself. I would not want to mess with it either!
DeletePosted on Marisol's blog on 3-11-12
ReplyDeleteHi Marisol. I enjoyed reading about the puffins on your blog. They are the cutest birds! They look very cuddly, even though I'm sure they would bite my finger off if I tried to pick one up. :-) Very interesting that they can live for so long, and they must be hardy little things to be able to survive being underwater when it is so cold. Nice job!
Posted on James O's blog on 3-11-12
Hi James. Walking sticks are very interesting insects. My daughter's kindergarten teacher had a cage full of them that she kept as pets. She had all different sizes of the insects in the cage, so I believe they were breeding. She brought them into the classroom from time to time and when she played music, they would sway back and forth as if they were dancing. Unfortunately she had an ant invasion in her home, and they got into the walking sticks' cage and killed them all. She was very upset about that, as she had had them for quite some time.
Did you know that walking sticks grow to a very large size in South Africa? They can grow to almost a foot long. Here is a link to the article: http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2004/september/stickinsect.htm
Posted on Nyamaa's blog on 3-11-12
Hi Nyamaa. I absolutely love tigers! They are so beautiful. We used to live in Fairfield, and used to visit Marine World quite often (this was before they built all of the roller coasters there). Tiger Island was my very favorite attraction. I could have sat for hours just watching them. It is very sad that the numbers of tigers in the wild has gotten so low. Luckily they breed well in captivity, but it would be better if they were allowed to live in their natural habitats in safety.
I love the picture that you posted--it really caught my attention! As much as I love tigers, I would NOT want to be in the water with one!