A Glaucus atlanticus washed ashore in Queensland, Australia recently and the video has gone viral. The "Blue Dragon" is a sight to behold - breathtakingly blue, comically cartoonish and one bad ass nudibranch.
Came across this odd critter at Broadbeach today. It's a Glaucus Atlanticus.
Posted by Lucinda Fry on Thursday, November 12, 2015
The Blue Dragon is blue while the underbelly is silver, which helps it camouflage itself as it floats upside down, clinging to the surface of the ocean water, according to Seven News Australia.
The sea slug lives in tropical and temperate oceans, but don't be fooled by its undulating, spellbinding azul or its "Pokémon" appearance, according to IFLScience. The one-inch long Glaucus atlanticus is so tough, it snacks on venomous animals like the Portuguese man o' war like they're movie popcorn. The Blue Dragon is immune to the sting of the Portuguese man o'war - which packs quite a wallop for humans and can kill smaller critters - and easily consumes the Physalia physalis.
But that's not all.
The tiny sea slug then "selects" the most venomous cells from the man o'war and integrates them into its own tissue, according to IFLScience. The selected venom is concentrated and used by the Blue Dragon for defense, making it more venomous than the man o'war it pilfered the venom from.
So, apologies to the honey badger (video NSFW), the cast of "The Expendables" franchise and Rocky Balboa (when he beat Apollo). You've all been "out-bad assed" by a one-inch slug.
