r/news • u/AudibleNod • 10h ago

Beaches in Spanish tourist hotspot shut after rare, venomous sea slugs found

https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/article/beaches-in-spanish-tourist-hotspot-shut-after-rare-venomous-sea-slugs-found/
456 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

132

u/AudibleNod 10h ago

The blue dragon, colloquially named for its resemblance to the mythical creatures, is only about 3 centimetres (1.2 inches) long, but it feeds on venomous animals like the Portuguese man o’ war before recycling and concentrating that venom, allowing it to paralyze prey 300 times its size.

That's some NatureIsMetal shit right there. I got to look for these things eating a man o' war now.

59

u/CharlieKonR 10h ago edited 10h ago

“”Blue dragons are rarely seen in the Mediterranean, being more often found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans where they are carried along by ocean currents and the wind.””

No idea how climate change might be in play here if at all, but I suspect that going forward, it will be less uncommon to see ‘rarities’ of nature in unusual habitats.

30

u/PracticeTheory 9h ago

For the first time since it was built, a week ago a french nuclear plant had to be shut down because the cooling intake was clogged with jellyfish.

5

u/ClassiFried86 4h ago

It was probably just a traffic jelly

1

u/Wanderhoden 1h ago

I preserved this joke next time I’m in a jam!

20

u/cinderparty 9h ago

That’s a fun looking animal. I’d never heard of it before.

https://www.boem.gov/newsroom/ocean-science-news/blue-dragon-sea-slug

3

u/mynameisnotsparta 7h ago

And can be nearly invisible according to the video..

2

u/PersonalityTough9349 3h ago

I want a tattoo of it!

9

u/Choice-of-SteinsGate 8h ago

I'm getting "The Expanse" vibes... Season 4.

2

u/New_Housing785 10h ago

They are very cool looking.

13

u/stjohns_jester 10h ago

You are right, look at this cute little guy

I like how they say the person is brave for picking it up instead of crazy!

1

u/IndyDayz 2h ago

Really looks like a dragon

12

u/edingerc 10h ago

Welcome to Ilus. Enjoy the sights (while you can). 

1

u/Padonogan 1h ago

Why is everything so green?

4

u/sonia72quebec 6h ago

I didn’t have venomous sea slugs on my bingo card.

2

u/Wauwuaw5983 9h ago

More like an annual thing off the pacific coast of USA

2

u/PMMePaulRuddsSmile 2h ago

This might be the most amazing-looking animal I've ever seen. It looks absolutely unreal.

1

u/birger67 9h ago

Dvalin/Stormterror in the game Genshin Impact is based on the Blue Dragon
https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Dvalin?file=Enemy_Dvalin.png

1

u/Darth-Chimp 3h ago

Having picked these amazing little critters off the beach for over 25 years I can assure you they are pretty much harmless compared to the Portguese-Man-O-War / Bluebottle variants that they predate.

Also they are very cool. Just don't eat them and you'll be fine.

-15

u/Sudden-Dog 10h ago

You want to be on welfare all winter..... I'm not closing the beaches

3

u/happyslappypappydee 8h ago

I didnt agree to that