Glaucus Atlanticus Sea Slug

The Glaucus Atlanticus Sea Slug

This tiny creature has gotten a fair bit of attention lately because of one simple reason: It’s absolutely crazy-looking. At first glance, it resembles a Pokémon or character from Final Fantasy more closely than a real biological animal. But the Glaucus Atlanticus Sea Slug—commonly known as the blue sea slug or blue dragon—is indeed a genuine species. And if you swim in the right places off of South Africa, Mozambique or Australia, you just might find one floating upside down, riding the surface tension of the water’s surface.

The species has a number of specialized adaptations that allow it to engage in a surprisingly aggressive behavior: preying on creatures much bigger than itself. The blue dragon, typically just an inch long, frequently feeds on Portuguese man o’ wars, which have tentacles that average 30 feet. A gas-filled sac in the stomach allows the small slug to float, and a muscular foot structure is used to cling to the surface. Then, if it floats by a man o’ war or other cnidarian, the blue dragon locks onto the larger creature’s tentacles and consumes the toxic nematocyst cells that the man o’ war uses to immobilize fish.

The slug is immune to the toxins and collects them in special sacs within the cerata—the finger-like branches at the end of its appendages—to deploy later on. Because the man o’ war’s venom is concentrated in the tiny fingers, blue dragons can actually have more powerful stings than the much larger creatures from which they took the poisons. So, if you float by a blue dragon sometime soon: look, but don’t touch.

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I did a little surfing around The Otaku again with what little time I was given today. I don't know if I am going to be able to keep up with all the talent that is here lol. I saw some beautiful wallpapers. So colorful and vibrant. The textures, brush work and fonts are wonderful. I guess I am going to have to do some digging on the internet and see if I can find some of this stuff. Everyone here is so very talented. I do hope I can contribute and not look a fool with what little talent I possess.

Thank you all for sharing such wonderful works of art.

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I am new here to The Otaku. I was surfing the site here and saw some cool wallpapers so I decided to join. I am a big anime freak and have been for many years. I am not good at making wallpapers or the ecard things. I hope with joining The Otaku I will get better in time.

I am looking forward to making tons of new friends here. I will visit more sites tomorrow when it is not 3am in the morning lol. Hope my site, or well; world, is set up right. I was a little confused when I created it.

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