There are often unexpected creatures in the ocean, most of which have strange shapes, which is quite interesting for those of us who are accustomed to land creatures.
On the surface of temperate and tropical oceans live such a creature, they have a unique appearance like a flying dragon, although small in size, but have a good ability to survive.
This is known as the Atlantic Poseidon Sea God Sea Slug (kuò) slug (yú), in addition to the Blue Angel, it also has such titles as Blue Dragon, Blue Petrel, Fading Manatee and so on.
The Atlantic Sea Slugs are molluscs belonging to the order Nudibranchus, mainly distributed in the tropical and temperate Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
One of the most obvious features of nudibranchs is the symmetry of the bodies, which are symmetrical even though their morphological sizes are very different.
The Atlantic sea god sea slug is generally only a little longer than 3 centimeters, if it is called a blue dragon, it must be a very pocket dragon.
Less than the size of a palm, they have a gorgeous appearance, with silvery gray and dark blue on the dorsal and ventral sides, and dark blue stripes on the head.
The whole body is flat and pointed, and a tail that is also dark blue is thin and long. In addition, they have three pairs of palm-like limbs on their bodies.
At first glance, they are actually a bit like that kind of aerial drone, but the color is far more vivid than the drone. If you look closely, they do look like a blue dragon.
As plankton, they float on the ocean all day long, and sometimes they may be hit ashore by waves, at which point you will find them shrinking into a ball.
They can float on the sea because they have a bulging air sac in their stomachs, just like people holding swimming rings in a swimming pool.
Spend your life "lying down"
Compared with ordinary creatures, the lifestyle of the Atlantic sea god sea slugs is somewhat different. They do not float on the surface of the sea, but "lie" face up on the surface of the sea.
Do you immediately think of backstroke athletes, but they don't need to swing their limbs, it seems to be more comfortable and relaxed?
But they don't lie down for comfort, it's actually a disguise for them, both offensively and defensively.
When they lie face up on the surface of the sea, the silver-gray back will appear under the surface of the sea, which is basically the same color as the underwater illuminated by the sun's rays.
The upward-facing abdomen is dark blue, and obviously the surface of the ocean is also dark blue, and they blend in perfectly without showing flaws.
The "all-encompassing" protective color makes them difficult to spot by prey, while they can more easily prey on other prey, which is a rather clever means of survival.
"Fighting" is a very good set
The Atlantic sea god sea slug feeds on other pelagic plankton, especially the monk's hat jellyfish, silver coin jellyfish and sail jellyfish.
The way they attack jellyfish is simple and crude: they grab the edge of the jellyfish's umbrella, tear it straight apart, tear off a large piece and swallow the remaining jellyfish.
Even poisonous jellyfish, which are quite dangerous to humans, do not care, and can even be said to be more willing to eat poisonous jellyfish.
Poisonous jellyfish have a stinging cell in their body that secretes venom, which can paralyze or poison any creature stung by a jellyfish.
When the Atlantic sea god sea slug swallows the poisonous jellyfish, it will absorb the jellyfish's thorn cells into its own thorn cell sac for storage.
The stored spiny cells are in turn transmitted by the stinging sac to the end of their appendages, as if from the body to the tip of the finger.
These venoms, plundered from jellyfish, can be of great use when they prey on prey, and are more lethal due to their larger amounts.
The people who have stung by them describe the pain at that time this way: like a hot blade cutting through the skin, you can imagine that it is very painful and painful.
While not invading their own poisons, they can also seize other people's weapons for their own use, and it has to be said that the Atlantic Sea God Sea Slugs are quite capable.
Males can also have children
The Atlantic Poseidon sea slugs belong to the hermaphrodite species, and both females and males can produce sperm and eggs, but the reproductive structure is different.
Their genitals are located on the right side of the abdomen, the females are hole-shaped, the males are larger and hook-shaped, and both can produce offspring after mating.
The eggs produced are long, spiral-shaped, and they usually lay on floating pieces of wood, food scraps, or animal carcasses.
This ensures that the pups remain floating until the air sacs in the stomach grow out and they float freely and independently.
At last
Although the number of Atlantic sea god sea slugs is not known to humans, with their superb survival skills, their population status should be not bad.
Moreover, far away in the ocean, they are not greatly affected by human activities, and they are not yet among the list of endangered species.
But they, which were originally distributed only in the warm tropical oceans, are also beginning to be found elsewhere, which is likely to be related to the rise in ocean temperatures.
Many people have the idea of keeping an Atlantic poseidon sea slug as a pet, but this practice is not realistic, and you will have a hard time finding the feed they like to eat.
But if you're bold enough to keep a lot of toxic jellyfish at home, then I didn't say that.