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Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Occasions by way of Getty Pictures
The Velella velella, a reputation so good you gotta say it twice.
Who’re they? The tiny disc-like critters are colonial hydrozoans, labeled below the phylum of cnidaria, and their eponymous genus of Velella (not a Sport of Thrones reference).
- Formally titled the Velella velella (say that 5 occasions quick) you might know them as by-the-wind sailors.
- The sailors are a few inches lengthy, and differ in putting shades of cobalt and child blue whereas they’re alive.
- They’ve the same construct to jellyfish, however have a small sail protruding from their bell, explaining the identify and their migratory patterns.
What is the massive deal? California beachgoers have reported seeing hundreds of the Velella velella alongside the shoreline lately, although they usually reside far offshore.
- And their sails can clarify it! They rely utterly on the wind and ocean currents to maneuver round, and when the circumstances are excellent, like with latest storms, they’ll get pushed up onto shore.
- In addition they lose that lovely blue hue as soon as they depart the embrace of ocean waters and die onshore, usually turning into grayish or clear. And with no exoskeleton to maintain their form propped up, they shrivel as much as resemble plastic.
- Their prime predators embody gloriously hued sea slugs and a particular breed of predatory snail.
Need extra on oceans? Take heed to the Contemplate This episode on why melting ice in Antarctica is a giant drawback for coastal Texas.
Autum Sasala/Getty Pictures
What are folks saying? Marine biologist Julianne Kalman Passarelli is the training and collections curator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California, and spoke with NPR concerning the mysterious blobby dudes.
On how they reproduce:
Hydrozoans are simply actually weird as a result of they do one thing known as alternation of generations. That is how they reproduce. And so they travel between a polyp stage, a colonial polyp stage, and a medusa stage.
On the construction of the Velella velella and its ecosystem:
[The Velella velella is] a colony of animals. And in case you look actually carefully, all these little issues hanging down that seem like tentacles are all completely different organisms throughout the identical colony, they usually all work collectively, sort of like coral, they usually all have a special function. One is for copy, one is for feeding, and one is for protection.
On the textures of the sail:
Should you have been to the touch the highest of the sail, it looks like plastic. It is fairly thick. And really what’s in there’s chitin. And that is the identical materials that’s within the exoskeleton of crustaceans. So it is notoriously exhausting and protecting, however you undoubtedly do not need to choose them up and contact them as a result of they’re cnidarians. Their sting will not be identified to be as poisonous as their family members, the Portuguese man o’ conflict, and even their extra distant family members jellyfish, sea nettles, issues like that. However they’ll trigger irritation. I would not recommend choosing them up together with your naked palms.
So, what now?
- So long as the circumstances are proper, the Velella velella will proceed to scrub ashore, till winds push them elsewhere. Actual go-with-the-flow sort guys.
- Although it isn’t yearly, seeing these tiny frisbees of the ocean is not essentially the most uncommon factor. “I’ve lived down right here for over 20 years and I’ve seen them at the very least 10 occasions,” Kalman Passarelli stated.
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