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5/11/24

BLUE BLOBS ON THE BEACH ARE STING-Y COLONIES OF INDIVIDUALS

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY   These blueish blogs that appear to have a sail aspect of their bodies are usually not able to live much longer once beached.  They sting.

Excerpt: 

These are marine hydrozoans, a group of animals closely related to jellyfishes. Interestingly, what might look like a single animal is actually a colony of multiple individuals working together. This is similar to the Portuguese man o' war, which is also a colonial hydrozoan. By-the-wind sailors feed on planktonic organisms using tentacles that have harpoon-firing cells called cnidocysts, just like jellyfish.

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