Categories: GeneralScience

Pretty Seaslug!

I’m struggling to figure out what fictional creature this very real seaslug looks like. Some sort of Pokemon perhaps? A robot creature from some game somewhere? My brain is failing me. Someone help me!

If you’re wondering, it’s actually a real creature: it goes by the name of “Glaucus atlanticus” (I’m loving the atlanticus part) and grows to a maximum size of 35mm. They generally float on the water in groups, staying at the surface by means of an air bubble they store in their gastric cavity. They’re pretty much ‘go with the flow’ creatures, though they can move towards their prey using their cerata (which are those wing-like things on the side).

These things are tiny little predators that hunt down jellyfish-like sea creatures like Portugese Man-o-wars (or “Physalia physalis”):

They actually store the nematocysts from their prey in the tips of their cerata as protection. You wouldn’t wanna go petting one of these babies – human can feel their sting so if ya see one, make sure it’s dead first!

[More information | Via I fucking love science]

 

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