Bizarre sea creatures become ‘all-you-can-eat-buffet’ off SoCal coast
NEWPORT, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — There’s some bizarre sea creatures washing ashore along the Southern California coastline.
They can be described as jellyfish-like blobs that are shaped like oval discs. Known as Velella velellas, this marine species lives on the surface of the open ocean.
With other names like sea raft, purple sail, little sail and by-the-wind sailor, this sea creature has a “sail” rising vertically from the center of its bodies.
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Jessica Rodriguez, the education and communications manager at a popular whale watching tour agency in Newport Beach, California, said velella velellas are not always around.
“Often, powerful spring storms will push these offshore sailors into our coastal waters and even onto our beaches, producing an all-you-can eat buffet for hungry Mola Mola fish who love to eat them,” said Rodriguez, from Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.
According to Rodriguez, Vellela vellela have been spotted not only in the ocean waters but also on Newport Beach over the past several days.
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Although they look very much like a jelly fish on their underside, they are actually a colonial organism related to the Portuguese man o’ war.
“Winds gently push Vellela across the ocean surface in the open ocean where they live as they catch their planktonic prey using tentacles lined with stinging nematocysts,” Rodriguez explained. “Thankfully, unlike their more potent man o’ war cousin, Vellela stings are mostly benign to human beings — good news considering we observed hundreds of them at sea today [Friday].”
These by-the-wind sailors have also been recently spotted in San Diego. According to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Vellela vellela are moved by ocean currents and wind patterns, and stay ashore until they are pulled back into the ocean by the tide or break down naturally.
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