On a sand holiday, a poisonous ocean slug presumably is not high on your must- see list.
That is exactly what San Antonio occupant Erick Yanta came across on his trip to Mustang Island, an 18- afar-wide stretch of land in the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi, Texas.
While tromping along the sand, Yanta and his woman, Anna, spotted a bitsy blue and white critter no longer than an inch adhering to a gemstone. He dipped it up to take a near look and mugged it before precisely placing it back into the water.
Yanta did not know it at the time, but they had encountered the poisonous Glaucus atlanticus, also known as the" blue dragon."
"We have seen plenitude of doormat like the Portuguese man-of- war, but noway this beast,"Yanta said. The Portuguese man-of- war is a siphonophore, a species nearly related to doormat, according to the National Ocean Service.
As soon as he captured the videotape, Yanta hopped onto Reddit so druggies could help him identify the beast.
They acclimatize to avoid bloodsuckers
The blue dragon typically lives on the face of the open ocean, said David Hicks, professor and director of the School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Lores at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.
The slugs have a bright blue underbelly and a softer argentine tone on their reverse, he said. Blue dragons float on their reverse so the blue on their underpart can blend in with the water while the argentine composites in with the ocean face, Hicks said.
This is called countershading, an evolutionary particularity that helps creatures avoid bloodsuckers, he said.
The ocean slugs can be plant at nearly any sand in the tropical and tropical authorizations, but their small size means most beachgoers do not see them, he said.
"They're also soft-bodied, so they're frequently broken apart by the time they get through the suds zone and deposited on the reinforcement ,"Hicks said.
A poisonous sting
Despite their small size, blue dragons pack quite a punch with their sting.
The beast eats brutes like the poisonous Portuguese man-of- war and stores its prey's smarting cells, called cnidocytes, in sacs, Hicks said. Blue dragons will use the cells to cover them from bloodsuckers, and humans occasionally get caught in the crossfire.
He pain of being soaked feels analogous to a man-of- war sting, which can be relatively painful and, in rare cases, life- hanging, Hicks said. Symptoms following a sting can include nausea and vomiting, according to American Abysses.
Still, it's stylish to go to a sanitarium for treatment, according to Ocean Info, If you're soaked by a blue dragon.
Yanta didn't know that the blue dragon he plant was poisonous and latterly laughed when he realized what he'd held. He said that knowing ahead of time wouldn't have made a difference however.
"I would've done the same thing,"Yanta said."I would've still dipped it up, mugged it and put it back in the water."
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