I saw these all over beaches and shores in Cinque Terra, Italy and don’t know what they are. Any thoughts?
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I saw these all over beaches and shores in Cinque Terra, Italy and don’t know what they are. Any thoughts?
To follow this topic, click here.
Hi Brad,
Those are Velella, a colonial hydrozoan, which is a type of Cnidarian, in the same phylum as jellyfish. Velella live on the surface and catch the wind with their small sail, sort of like the more famous Portuguese man o’ war, but sometimes, if the wind changes direction, they can become stranded by the thousands. They have stingers, so you should be careful about handling them with bare hands. Usually, the stingers don’t penetrate the tough skin of your hands, but if you then rub your hands on your eyes or face, you might get a reaction, depending on how sensitive you are.
They are certainly beautiful, though, aren’t they?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velella
Thank you, Tom! I did so many Google searches and was not able to have any luck. lol
What an interesting creature!