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Dragons are real. And they live in the ocean.

Blue Glaucus or “the blue dragon” is a brightly colored nudibranch that incorporates toxic chemicals & stinging cells from prey into its skin as a defense against predation.

And in my humble opinion, it’s more spectacular than anything ever imagined in Westeros. Image: Sylke Rohrlach #science #nature #SharedPlanet
#nature #science #sharedplanet
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
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Sheril Kirshenbaum
Sheril Kirshenbaum
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@MurmeltHier @RebeccaRHelm I haven’t met Rebecca yet, but will check out her posts.

I’m trained as a marine biologist. My graduate work was on sea cucumbers, but I absolutely adore nudibranchs.
@MurmeltHier @Open Ocean Exploration
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

eye0ftheworld
eye0ftheworld
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@MurmeltHier @RebeccaRHelm my kid got a sea cucumber as a toy in one of those surprise eggs candy things. I thought it was a joke, as she thought it was a piece of poop. Ended up tossing it, as nobody wanted to touch it.
@MurmeltHier @Open Ocean Exploration
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

bzzzzzdroid
bzzzzzdroid
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Very cool. Looking at that image I am reminded of Mandelbrot fractals. Thanks for the heads up
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Anita Lewis
Anita Lewis
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I had to look this up to verify its reality! That is awesome.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Chuck Darwin
Chuck Darwin
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Its food of choice is a venomous and feared cnidarian, the Portuguese man o’ war. This poisonous ocean drifter looks like a jellyfish, and it has a fearsome reputation.

The Blue Glaucus not only eats it, but it also recycles the stinging cells from the Portuguese man o’ war to use as their own protective devices. The blue dragon has hard disks inside its skin and a protective layer of mucus that protects them against these stinging cells–of which it can amass a significant amount.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Prof Felipe Gusmao
Prof Felipe Gusmao
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We often see these beautiful nudibranchs when Portuguese Man O'War are also present in the environment. As far as I know, there are two species in the genus Glaucus, the most common is Glaucus atlanticus
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

TudbuT
TudbuT
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honestly almost magical creature in fiction exists in the ocean /hj
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
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Teeny tiny dragon 😀 Maxes out at about 3cm long (bit over an inch).

The largest of its kin (the nudibranches, which are sea snails / shelless mollusks) is the bright red Spanish Dancer, which gets up to 60cm long.

Nudibranches are hugely diverse, and predominantly "small but amazing looking" 😀
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Biff Vernon
Biff Vernon
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Since Glaucus atlanticus floats upside down at the sea surface, it's colour and broken outline camouflages it against the sky when viewed from a predator's position.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

dé🥐
dé🥐
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TIL that "Like almost all heterobranchs, blue dragons are hermaphrodites and their male reproductive organs have evolved to be especially large and hooked to avoid their partner's venomous cerata. Unlike most nudibranchs, which mate with their right sides facing, sea swallows mate with ventral sides facing. After mating, both individuals are able to lay eggs and can release up to 20 on an egg string, often laying them in wood pieces or carcasses."
🤩
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Tom von Alten
Tom von Alten
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What a fabulous planet we live on! (We should take better care of it.)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Rod Rhimes
Rod Rhimes
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That dragon lives in the water to quench its thirst after breathing fire all day.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

L
L
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Nature Wow! What else is in the deep blue that we haven’t discovered yet? #science #Scuba
#science #scuba
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

DrJekyll
DrJekyll
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"Nudi's" are some of my favourite things to see while scubadiving. They're small, but whenever you see one, so amazing. 😀
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Jackie ❤️☮️
Jackie ❤️☮️
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What a beautiful creature, I've never seen one before.
I didn't know anything about it, so looked it up.
Fascinating little creature!
(Sorry if you already know about the info in the link, but I'm quite fascinated and wanted to know more and to share it).
https://oceana.org/marine-life/blue-glaucus/

Blue Glaucus - Oceana

Despite its impressive arsenal of defense tactics, the blue glaucus rarely reaches more than 3 centimeters long. And, unlike most benthic nudibranchs, this species lives throughout the entire water column.
Oceana
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

EamonnMR
EamonnMR
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imagine how many times this thing avoided evolving into a snail.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

CyberIndigeneity
CyberIndigeneity
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then def check out bioluminescent algae that in Maine we called "blue tide".
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

jujube
jujube
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The general rule of nature is that the prettier the creature the more deadly it is.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Yes To OwlS
Yes To OwlS
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Nudibranch sounds like a type of makeup, and it should definitely be blue.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

MYDekel469
MYDekel469
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Beautful. Imagine if we had those soaring our skies! Steer clear of the toxins, though 😂
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Elysia Macht
Elysia Macht
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In that case, may I rec or request using a tag for them if you post any again? 🙏

I quite like nudibranches but will never check the other, very generic tags in your post at the top. From time to time I may recall e.g. Elysias of other kinds tho & think to check nudibranch tags as well.

And TBF, even when I check popular tags, I can never find a specific toot again later on about whichever specific interest I maybe spied somewhere sometime. The specific interests me, not the generic.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Irving's Zoo
Irving's Zoo
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I'm a scuba diver and nudibranchs are my favorite critters. Gotta get over to that side of the world and see one of those someday.

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