the strangest thing....
my brother and i found one of these guys floating in a rockpool the other day, looking for all the world like a little blue chinese dragon. i'd never seen anything like it and i had absolutely no idea what it was at first. but i applied my considerable (ahem) natural history talents and came up with an answer - turns out it IS a blue dragon, a pelagic sea slug which floats about the ocean on its back (that's it's belly and foot you're looking at) feeding on blue bottles. so very cool, is it not?
Comments and faves
dickuhne, Arisuta-, Forkie, Liz AM, and 925 other people added this photo to their favorites.
dickuhne (65 months ago | reply)
Yow!
how coooool
the doubtful guest (65 months ago | reply)
wow, speedy dick.
glad you like it!
dickuhne (65 months ago | reply)
must work this into the family crest somehow..
alwaysawake (65 months ago | reply)
i thought it was some kinda nudibranch
alwaysawake (65 months ago | reply)
oh, yeah, so says your tag. oops.
Liz AM (65 months ago | reply)
wow! there is a sea slug forum!! : D
smrisk (65 months ago | reply)
what an unique discovery! thanks for sharing!
carnun (65 months ago | reply)
Too cool! And too beautiful!
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wackocatho (65 months ago | reply)
whoa... that's amazing! you've made it to explore with this one too!! :)
Lean (inkel) (65 months ago | reply)
Beautiful colors has this ugly (?) thing! :P
Stevie Skowron [deleted] (65 months ago | reply)
Very cool... incredible colours...
tumblingmirth [deleted] (65 months ago | reply)
Very unique - spectacular in fact!
Ronán (65 months ago | reply)
Amazing - looks so unlikely that you figure it has to be real!
Yolande... (65 months ago | reply)
Fantastic! Seen in Explore. You should post it in lots of nature groups, it deserves lots of views.
oli bryant (65 months ago | reply)
schweet
Donina (65 months ago | reply)
fabulous colours :-) how big was it LK? if i had one at home, would it eat my bird?
10centpiece (65 months ago | reply)
Unreal, I want one for a fish. Looks like you could take him for a walk down the park.
strangejourney (65 months ago | reply)
that's one of the freakiest things i've ever seen. looks like a alien spaceship to me.
RemyOmar (65 months ago | reply)
that is just amazing!
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VickerMonkee (65 months ago | reply)
Wicked looking thing!
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Archer's Eye (65 months ago | reply)
exquisite!
snowy4052002 (65 months ago | reply)
Please add your Beautiful Photo to:
Beauty is in the *Eye* of the Beholder!
nj dodge (65 months ago | reply)
That's amazing and is a really nice shot of it.
LyndaC (65 months ago | reply)
That is seriously very cool LOL, wow, never seen that before. It doesn't look very big, would love to know the dimensions.
the doubtful guest (65 months ago | reply)
wow! thanks all! i'm stoked that so many people thought it was as fascinating as i did.
blue dragons are part of a whole floating community of weird animals. i did get pictures of the other creatures, which i will post sometime, but none of them are quite as cool as this guy.
to answer the dimension question, these guys were little, 3 or 4cms long. definitely not threat to your wee yellow bird, donina.
science (65 months ago | reply)
I'm very excited by that seaslug forum.
Johny Day (65 months ago | reply)
Wow , I never seen this in a book or anywhere else , very cool and very beautiful
Fav++
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Double Exposure1 (65 months ago | reply)
Think about all the sea life that hasn't even been identified yet. Thanks for the information on one that has been identified, but which I didn't learn about till just now. Amazing animal and thank you for sharing both information and the photo.
the doubtful guest (65 months ago | reply)
you're right, it would make a fabulous brooch.
☞Uh … Bob☜ (65 months ago | reply)
Wow! Damn, I miss living near the ocean.
its mike (65 months ago | reply)
that is super funky, looks like something from a videogame. nice shot!
alwaysawake (65 months ago | reply)
ok, i'm going to butt in one more time and say i've seen these funny things (in various shapes, sizes and colours) a few times swimming around while scuba diving in northern waters and they're amazing. and, i think, they EAT poison. yep.
Edgar Thissen (65 months ago | reply)
Amazing creature, just wonderful!
I really like your animal photo!
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AceTrace (65 months ago | reply)
Bizarre creature - never seen one of these before!
bansidhe (65 months ago | reply)
Another one of these showed up recently on Flickr. The photo was taken by tarotastic and entitled Nudibranch. They identified it as:
Glaucus atlanticus
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae
Acrophobic (65 months ago | reply)
enigmatic specimen
G0Da (65 months ago | reply)
A very interesting find, Thank you so much for sharing.
rjsfoto (65 months ago | reply)
Cool! I've never seen anything like it either. Great photo!
DNL+ (65 months ago | reply)
w00t!
trembly1 (65 months ago | reply)
Fascinating - where did you find this guy? Nice to be reminded that the world can be a surprising and beautiful place :o)
peter.ca (65 months ago | reply)
Great shot !
Seen on the explore page.
Cheryl Moorehead (65 months ago | reply)
That is the most amazing thing! I've always wanted to see one, myself.
klocean (65 months ago | reply)
That is absolutely fascinating. I love learning new things...thanks!
Qamaria (65 months ago | reply)
No comment it is similar i had seen before
sgsisk (65 months ago | reply)
Very pretty slug! I can't believe I said that a slug was pretty. What's with nie_nie7142 with "no comment" ?
Cheekybikerboy (64 months ago | reply)
That is amazing and I've never seen anything like it!
JENRIKS (64 months ago | reply)
Wicked... Nature still can impress mankind with it's beauty, doesn't it?
robert_goulet (64 months ago | reply)
awesome
happicamper.geo (64 months ago | reply)
how neat, who knew!
--Steve (64 months ago | reply)
Wow is the word.