Glaucus atlanticus

The slug in the water

• Scientific classification
  Kingdom:Animalia, Class:Gastropoda, Phylum:Mollusca, Genus:Glaucus, Family:Glaucidae

Glaucus atlanticus commonly known as (blue ocean slug, blue sea slug, blue angel, blue glaucus, blue dragon and sea swallow) the blue dragon is one of the most charming looking creatures in the ocean.

blue ocean slug

The sea slug spends its life floating upside down on the surface by using the surface tension of the water to stay up on the surface of the sea.

They are keeping air in their stomachs and this can help them stay floating on the surface of the sea.

where do they live?
They live in warm temperate and tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic, and Southern Pacific Oceans. And if you swim in the right places off of Mozambique, South Africa or Australia, you just might find one floating upside down on the surface.

Although these creatures live on the open ocean, they may be found on beaches.

Feeding
blue ocean slug feeds mainly on hydrozoans although they are also known to be cannibalistic.

Sting
The slug is immune to the toxins and able to swallow the venomous such as the Portuguese man o' war and collects them of its finger-like branches- at the end of its appendages.

it can actually have more painful stings than the much Bigger creatures from which they took the poisons. So, if you float by a blue sea slug sometime soon: look, but don’t touch. 😊