From the farthest distance, the ocean stands out as the planet’s key ecosystem. A huge blue globe that houses the most extraordinary and inspiring life. Approaching its surfaces we observe seas of all colors; light blue, dark and even pink. However, in those that house temperate and tropical waters we find a truly unique being: the blue dragon.
For centuries it has been said that the ocean hides creatures worthy of mythological tales, but those are only theories. Although, a few have been lucky enough to meet exceptional marine beings, such as a pink stingray, white killer whales or a blue dragon.
Blue dragon: the king of adaptation
The glaucus atlanticus, or blue dragon, is a sea slug. A mollusk of the family Glaucidae which mainly runs through the Atlantic Ocean, although it has been found in all oceans.
Specifically inhabiting the shallowest part of the water, this species could be in constant danger of being prey. However, each being has a very particular characteristic that allows us to survive more easily: adaptation.
Evolution gave the blue dragon a key quality to survive, camouflage. Thanks to its different shades of blue that dress its body, this sea slug gets lost in the water and avoids being seen by predators on the surface.
Meanwhile, those below her – in the depths of the sea – are also deceived. The lower part of its structure shines with a silver color, which imitates the shine caused between water and the Sun.
Free as a dragon in the ocean
In this way, each part of its hydroskeleton (liquid skeleton) is designed to navigate like a water bubble. Inert among the currents of the sea, it stays afloat with its barely 4 cm length and its extremities that make their way like the branches of a tree.
The little blue dragon sails freely through the oceans, although if you ever come across him you should be careful. By eating poisonous jellyfish, this peculiar being stores stinging cells within its tissues and uses it as a defense against any threat.
For that reason, it is better to watch the blue dragon from afar and even try to emulate its journey across the ocean. After all, getting carried away by the movement of the sea and the wind can make us reconnect with the most essential thing on the planet: life.
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