If you’ve visited the beaches of Southern California in recent days, you may have come across thousands of rare blue species in this region.

These animals are a species that have similarities between sea jellyfish and shellfish, but this is not the case.

“Meet the Vellela vellela, or Wind Sailor!” wrote the Orange County Coastal District of the California Department of State Parks.

These species have been seen in recent days on beaches from Marin County to Orange County. Many wonder what they are and if they are dangerous.

“Wind sailors are related to sea jellyfish (also known as jellyfish), but they are not true jellyfish but rather hydroids, marine invertebrates covered in polyps with stinging tentacles which they use to paralyze plankton for food”, according to the same publication. state parks…

And why are they called “wind sailors”? Experts explain that these species “spend most of their lives navigating the surface of the ocean in warm, temperate waters around the world at the mercy of wind and currents.”

The upper part of these Vellela vellelas has a transparent fin that allows them to travel with the wind, and at the same time, to stabilize in the middle of the ocean.

“Wind sailors are colonial, floating in large numbers all together on the high seas and because they have no way to fight the salty wind and ocean currents, they sometimes wash up in large groups,” according to the Department of state parks.

These animals are harmless, but “everyone’s tolerance to their bite is different, so it’s best to leave these intriguing sailors where you found them on the sand.”

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