BLUE DRAGONS (Glaucus atlanticus)

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Context

• For the past two days, blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus), a type of sea slug, have been spotted on the beach and in waters near the shore in Besant Nagar.

All about Blu Dragon

• The blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus) is a type of mollusk, or sea slug, known as a nudibranch.
• It can be found on the surface of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
• These sea slugs are pelagic; they float upside down by using the surface tension of the water to stay up, where they are carried along by the winds and ocean currents.
• This ornate creature rarely grows larger than three centimeters long or just over one inch.
• 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.
• Glaucus atlanticus feed on other aquatic creatures - that is, those that live near the water's surface.
• The blue dragon stores the man o’ war’s stinging nematocysts within its finger-like appendages, making itself equally venomous to predators.
• One sting from it can lead to nausea, pain, vomiting, acute allergic contact dermatitis, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Blue Glaucus Conservation

• They are listed by the IUCN as endangered.