The tiny disc-like critters are colonial hydrozoans, categorized under the phylum of cnidaria, and their eponymous genus of Velella (now not a game of Thrones reference).
officially titled the Velella velella (say that 5 instances rapid) you could understand them as by way of-the-wind sailors.
The sailors are more than one inches long, and vary in putting shades of cobalt and toddler blue at the same time as they're alive.
they've a comparable build to jellyfish, but have a small sail protruding from their bell, explaining the call and their migratory patterns.
California beachgoers have mentioned seeing hundreds of the Velella velella alongside the shoreline recently, though they generally live a ways offshore.
And their sails can explain it! They rely completely at the wind and ocean currents to transport around, and when the situations are just right, like with recent storms, they are able to get driven up onto shore.
they also lose that lovely blue hue after they leave the embody of ocean waters and die onshore, normally becoming grayish or obvious. And and not using a exoskeleton to preserve their form propped up, they shrivel as much as resemble plastic.
Their top predators include gloriously hued sea slugs and a unique breed of predatory snail.
Marine biologist Julianne Kalman Passarelli is the training and collections curator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California, and spoke with NPR approximately the mysterious blobby dudes.
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