![]() Should you ever come in contact with one, look, admire, be appropriately awed, but do not touch!Īlthough blue dragons live on the open ocean, they sometimes wash up onto the shore, making for a spectacular - if small - sight against the beige sand. One sting from this little guy can lead to nausea, pain, vomiting, acute allergic contact dermatitis, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The blue dragon stores the man o’ war’s stinging nematocysts within its finger-like appendages, making itself equally venomous to predators. Its favorite meals, made up primarily of venomous siphonophores, sound like mystical creatures themselves, including the by-the-wind-sailor (Velella velella) the blue button (Porpita porpita) the violet snail, and the dangerously venomous Portuguese man o' war. Glaucus atlanticus feed on other aquatic creatures - that is, those that live near the water's surface. The blue side of its body acts as camouflage against the backdrop of ocean waves, while the pearlized silver/grey side blends in with the bright sea surface, hiding it from predators below. The blue dragon floats on its back (an air bubble in its stomach helping it maintain buoyancy), its brightly colored underbelly exposed to airborne predators. This ornate creature rarely grows larger than three centimeters long or just over one inch. ![]() ![]() It can be found on the surface of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. The blue dragon ( Glaucus atlanticus) is a type of mollusk, or sea slug, known as a nudibranch. Living organism or work of art? Is there a difference? In the case of the blue glaucus, also known as the blue dragon, the answer is no. ![]() Each Wednesday, One Earth’s “Species of the Week” series highlights a relatively unknown and fascinating species to showcase the beauty, diversity, and remarkable characteristics of our shared planet Earth. ![]()
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