One of Earth's Exotic Animals Explored

Have you ever stopped and thought about what all could be living on this Earth at this very moment that you have probably never                                                   seen before?  

The Creature

       I searched the web for some type of exotic specimen to show and talk about for today's blog topic. What I found was a creature named Glaucus Atlanticus "commonly known as the sea swallow, blue angel, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug". Here is some information I found out about them on the web.

Food

   What these little guys eat is  hydrozoans (a group of animals in the same phylum as jellyfish)(" Glaucus Atlanticus",1) including the especially the highly poisonous Portuguese Man-O’-War. when ever you pick up the sea slug you might end up receiving a very painful sting, from the cnidarian venom the slug stores in its skin. Since this creature can store the poison in its tentacles hands for their own defense purposes.

The characteristics

They up to 3 centimeters in length.

Have 6 long finger like shapes on their fines.

They are blue bodies, with a gray stripe running through their back with 2 black stripes on either side.

The colors help provide a type of protective defense to help camouflage in the water, while protecting them from ultra violet lights.

Habitat and Behavior

         Live around the ocean mainly around Tropical climates. Such as  regions of East and South Coast of South Africa, European waters, the east coast of Australia and Mozambique.

The Glaucus Atlanticus typically moves around by drifting upside down on the ocean's current and breeze of the wind. Their swimming abilities are extremely slow.





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References

unknown, Glaucus Atlanticus,http://eol.org/pages/451180/details,
elo encyclopedia of life,Jul.,1, 2011,web., Feb,13,15