the wind blue sailors aka velella jellyfish

navigate by keyword : animals ashore balloon beach blue boat body camouflaged cannon caribbean coast copy cuba dangerous family fin fish float found freefloating genus hydrozoa hydrozoan island jelly jellyfish life little main marine monospecific muscle nature ocean open oregon oval parts physalia porpitidae purple raft sail sailor sailors sand sandy sea simply space star starfish sticky stinging surface symmetry tentacles text these three umbrella usa velella washed west wind

By-the-WInd Blue Sailors aka Velella velella jellyfish

Velella velella is a free-floating hydrozoan that lives on the surface of the open ocean. It is commonly known by the names Sea Raft, By-the-Wind Sailor, Purple Sail, Little Sail or simply Velella. These Velella were washed ashore at Cannon Beach, Oregon. WVelella velella to give them their scientific name are often assumed to be a type of jellyfish but, while biology does lump them in with jellyfish, sea anenomes, and corals in a group known as Cnidaria, Velellas are not all that closely related to the common or moon jellyfish