Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Real Blue Dragons

There is a real blue dragon, but it is small.  It is a sea slug called Glaucus atlanticus.  According to wikipedia:

 

Glaucus atlanticus (common names sea swallow, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug)sea slug, a pelagic aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Glaucidae. This is the only species in the genus Glaucus,[1] but is closely related to Glaucilla marginata, which sometimes is included in Glaucus.[2

The normal size of this species is up to about 3 cm, depending on the animal's age.[3] Iis silvery grey on its dorsal side and dark and pale blue ventrally. It has dark blue stripes on its face. It has a tapering body which is flattened and has six appendages which branch out into rayed cerata.[4] Its radula bears serrated teeth on their blades.[5]

Glaucus atlanticus and its close relative, Glaucilla marginata, live in close association with what Sir Alistair Hardy described many years ago as "The Blue Fleet" - the siphonophores such as Physalia physalis, Velella velella, Porpita porpita and the other associated animals including the "violet snails" of the genus Janthina. All these animals float on the surface of the ocean being carried by the currents and the winds. Most of us are only aware of their existence when days of onshore winds blow great fleets of them on to the beaches, causing pain and angst for swimmers.
 




 
 
 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucus_atlanticus

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