This week I want to talk about my personal favorite surface animal, the blue sea dragon, or sea swallow (Glaucus spp.) I think blue sea dragon is the most fitting name because these animals look like mythical creatures or something from another world! They are sea slugs but they have some special tricks up their sleeves. They are vicious predators and eat many of the surface animals we’ve talked about previously like by-the-wind sailors, Portuguese man-o-wars, and blue buttons. They can eat jellyfish and other animals with stinging cells because they are immune to them, and on top of being immune to them they also store the stinging cells in special structures called cerata so that they can use them for their own defense! That’s right, these sea slugs have jellyfish stings!! The blue sea dragons have interesting coloration that serves as double camouflage, their top sides are blue and white to blend in with the ocean’s surface, and their underside is whitish to blend in with the sunlight shining through the water.

Wishing you all the best beach-combing finds!
-Ari Puentes

Posted on November 11, 2021 03:55 PM by goseascience