Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Velella


We just learned about the Portuguese Man o' War that looks like a jellyfish but is a hydrozoan.

Another type of hydrozoan is the Velella, also called the sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail or little sail.

These are small blue animals that float along the top of the water, and have what looks like a little sail on top of their body.

The sail catches the wind and helps these animals move along the water.

They are very small, only about two and a half inches.
Just like other hydrozoans, they are actually a bunch of small animals all stuck together.
They use small tentacles to catch things like plankton with stingers and then eat them up.

The stingers don't hurt humans, but might make their skin itch a little.


(from: wikipedia - velella)


Mass stranding Velella velella on Menorca May 2013 - JNJPO

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ammonoidea