LCDRDATA November 20, 2015 November 20, 2015 This just showed up on my wife's facebook (original URL here)- what a gorgeous creature! Rare Sighting of a "Blue Dragon" Spotted on the Shores of Australia By Kristine Mitchell November 20, 2015 Depending on your tastes, this bizarre little blue creature may inspire either aww-worthy shrieks of excitement or a bit of discomforted shock, possibly a combination of both. Meet the blue dragon, one of the weirdest and most wonderful little-known animals in the world. The proper name of this mythical-looking creature is Glaucus atlanticus, or blue sea slug, and although it is much smaller than its fictional brethren of lore (only about an inch or two in length) it has a host of nasty tricks up its sleeve—er wing? They spend their lives upside down, attached to the surface of the water and floating along at the mercy of the winds and ocean currents. Blue in color, they blend in with the water in order to camouflage themselves within their environment. And though petit, these baby dragons are also dangerous: they predate on venomous cnidarians, such as the Portuguese man o’war. They store the stings cells collected from these cnidarians within their own tissues, and use them as a defence on anything that bothers them. Handling a little blue dragon could result in a painful, and possibly dangerous, sting. Although rarely spotted by humans, one of these alien-like specimens was caught on film after washing ashore in Queensland, Australia. via [The Dodo]
John-Solo November 20, 2015 November 20, 2015 Wow! That is really cool. This kind of stuff is why I love this hobby. Thanks for sharing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LCDRDATA November 20, 2015 Author November 20, 2015 If its so dangerous why are they holding it? You've got me there - because they're not very bright? There are protective skin coatings, so maybe they are using one of those. Either way, It does provide a nice scale of reference. Wow! That is really cool. This kind of stuff is why I love this hobby. Thanks for sharing. You're very welcome - my wife thought I'd appreciate it, and I thought others would as well.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now