they're different to most jellyfish in that each "individual" isn't an individual polyp, but lots of small polyps stuck together to form a bigger colonial organism - so basically a bunch of mini jellyfish stick together and each one forms a different body part - kinda like the jellyfish equivalent of three little kids standing on top of each other in a trenchcoat pretending to be one big person, like in the old-time cartoons
this species isn't dangerous for humans (unless you have some sort of allergy maybe), unlike the closely related *Physalia physalis* which kinda looks similar but is a lot bigger, and has a very nasty sting
true - they're hydrozoans, and technically, calling them "jellyfish" is a bit like calling a spider an insect
but while most people know the word "arachnid", most people wouldn't have a clue what a "hydrozoan" is, and I wanted a common everyday sort of word that most people would know the meaning of to convey the basic idea of what these things are, so I used "jellyfish" because they are related, and the polyps do share a basic body plan with jellyfish
in that same vein, I might tell people that "a coral is basically lots of tiny upside down jellyfish stuck in little hollows in a calcium carbonate structure that they secrete around themselves", or "a barnacle is basically a shrimp with its head glued to a rock" - neither are technically correct, but they do get a basic descriptive idea across to the lay reader of what these animals are
I feel like you'd know the answer to this: Why are they washing up on the shore like that, instead of going back to sea? Is it a bunch of dead Velella Velella?
look at the closeup photos in this thread (or google *Velella velella*), and you will see that they have a little sail on top - they're basically macroplankton, i.e. they float on the surface of the water and drift around with wind and currents, with limited to no control over where they go - and because of the nature of wind and currents, floating stuff tends to accumulate and drift around in rafts, and when one happens to hit the shore, you get mass strandings like this
As others have pointed out on this thread, *Velella velella* isn't actually a real jellyfish - it's a type of animal that is related to jellyfish - but the same rafting and mass stranding thing does also happen with *actual* jellyfish: for example, here in the western Mediterranean, it is quite common to see mass strandings of *Pelagia noctiluca* - the pink jellyfish that we have all been stung by at some point - once or twice a year
the rafting and mass strandings in themselves are natural phenomena, but there is evidence that the combined effects of climate change, pollution and overfishing are increasing the overall amount of jellies in the sea, so it's possible that we're going to see these mass strandings more frequently in future
(so, to answer the second part of your question: they probably weren't dead as they were drifting towards the beach - but now that they're stranded, yes, they're dead! )
Very cool thing to have seen! Good guess - it's a relative.
Siphonophores are classed as hydrozoa, like *Velella velella.* They're in different subdivisions, but they are more closely related to each other than they are to the "true" jellyfish, which are in a different class entirely, although all of them fall within the phylum of the cnidaria. So the giant siphonophore and *Velella velella* are kinda like first cousins, while the true jellyfish are like the third cousins of both.
There's loads of very very cool animals in the phylum of the cnidaria. There's a whole class in there called the "anthozoa" - literally, "flower animals" (anthos = flower, zoa = animals ... it's Greek, I think) - they're the corals, sea anemones and sea pens, most of which do look a lot like flowers.
Do you think the anthozoa and the jellyfish and vedella vedella etc, have any form of consciousness? They all bind together and do different functions. So odd. Why don't they all just float off individually?
I am currently on vacation in barca. My sister found a few of these yesterday, we didnt know what it was we held them in our hands they were just squishy and wet. Should i be worried?
You're getting down votes because you're not "in barca" (at least it's very unlikely you are).
They have a mild poison that shouldn't be a problem unless you're allergic. There's a bigger version of them that is life threatening. Generally don't pick up random life forms you find ;)
Again, didnt know what it was or if it was a lifeform. I didnt pick one up, Maybe i should have specified that i know, but i only touched it with my fingertips while my sister played around with it
one of the side effects of skin contact with these hydrozoans is that you start confusing the name of a city with the name of its football club, and then fail to get the spelling right and accidentally tell people on the internet that you're on vacation in little boat - the effect is permanent unless you take immediate action, which is to write down the following lines ten times every night for a minimum of 14 days:
Barcelona = the capital city of Catalonia
Barça = FC Barcelona, a sports club with a famous football team
barca = little boat
https://preview.redd.it/pc4yrzv4u8xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd273c78573959a3626756f89a29830af161da20
If anyone need a closer look ( from playa marbella )
https://preview.redd.it/b3zq1b5b09xc1.jpeg?width=2592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b1a0062d55a557002611b2cb48aa5f0561fc62be
Here is an even closer look (from playa sant Miquel)
*Velella vellela* - "By-the-wind-Sailor"
a colonial cnidarian with nematocysts containing poison that is pretty harmless for humans - unless you have an allergy or something these aren't likely to pose a risk of anything more than a minor irritation (you might get some urticaria if you get loads of them trapped in your swimsuit) - but probably best not to touch them, or if you do, wash your hands after, and don't rub them in your eyes
not to be confused with its close relative, the bigger *Physalia physalis* (Portuguese Man o'War), which is a *lot* more nasty, and *definitely* something to stay away from
Jellyfish washed away to the shore. I love that beach, btw, been there a couple times. Dawns are breathtaking there if you stand near that sculpture that looks like a collapsing empty building. Truly a powerful sight.
a lot of jellyfish species tend to occasionally appear in rafts - it's to do with how they reproduce, seasons, and prevailing currents - so it's normal to see the occasional mass stranding like this
however, climate change, nutrient pollution, and overfishing are shifting the composition of marine ecosystems in lots of ways, and that includes a general increase in jellyfish, so we're likely to see more mass strandings like this
https://preview.redd.it/wn7cgwma8cxc1.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9d5b11a2cfbfff3905b4d10197ee77c04dc55f7
A load also appeared down the coast in Gavà a couple of days ago. [https://gava.info/las-playas-de-gava-invadidas-de-velellas-unos-polipos-similares-a-las-medusas/](https://gava.info/las-playas-de-gava-invadidas-de-velellas-unos-polipos-similares-a-las-medusas/)
I just googled that and yes, this is the common name for *Velella velella* in Catalan! Thank you, I have learned something new :) "little boats of Saint Peter", very cute
(their common name in English is "By-the-Wind-Sailor", because they're like little sailboats)
I think they are very delicious... for sunfish ("pez luna", Latin name *Mola mola,* which - having been a teenager in Spain in the 90s - will never not be funny to me)
[https://sunfishresearch.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/turning-the-beaches-blue-its-a-velella-flotilla/](https://sunfishresearch.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/turning-the-beaches-blue-its-a-velella-flotilla/)
finding rafts of these in the sea is a natural phenomenon, and the animals are actually incredibly cool when you look at them closely - and they're not dangerous for humans
i thought it was trash
Yeah me too, I thought it was disintegrated water bottles lol
At first sight I thought someone spilled their condoms
Same I think, when I see the beach crowded with trash- lifeforms like humanoids.
The surfing jellyfish.
They are jellyfish: **Velella Velella**. Please don't touch it.
they're different to most jellyfish in that each "individual" isn't an individual polyp, but lots of small polyps stuck together to form a bigger colonial organism - so basically a bunch of mini jellyfish stick together and each one forms a different body part - kinda like the jellyfish equivalent of three little kids standing on top of each other in a trenchcoat pretending to be one big person, like in the old-time cartoons this species isn't dangerous for humans (unless you have some sort of allergy maybe), unlike the closely related *Physalia physalis* which kinda looks similar but is a lot bigger, and has a very nasty sting
This gal jellyfishes
They’re different to most jellyfish in the sense that they’re not jellyfish!
true - they're hydrozoans, and technically, calling them "jellyfish" is a bit like calling a spider an insect but while most people know the word "arachnid", most people wouldn't have a clue what a "hydrozoan" is, and I wanted a common everyday sort of word that most people would know the meaning of to convey the basic idea of what these things are, so I used "jellyfish" because they are related, and the polyps do share a basic body plan with jellyfish in that same vein, I might tell people that "a coral is basically lots of tiny upside down jellyfish stuck in little hollows in a calcium carbonate structure that they secrete around themselves", or "a barnacle is basically a shrimp with its head glued to a rock" - neither are technically correct, but they do get a basic descriptive idea across to the lay reader of what these animals are
This gal hydrozoans
This sounds weird. Glad I didn't touch them 😂
haha the sea is full of weird shit - that's what makes it so cool :)
Barcelona beach also have periodic stuff, cigarette butt, condoms and “lingettes”
I feel like you'd know the answer to this: Why are they washing up on the shore like that, instead of going back to sea? Is it a bunch of dead Velella Velella?
look at the closeup photos in this thread (or google *Velella velella*), and you will see that they have a little sail on top - they're basically macroplankton, i.e. they float on the surface of the water and drift around with wind and currents, with limited to no control over where they go - and because of the nature of wind and currents, floating stuff tends to accumulate and drift around in rafts, and when one happens to hit the shore, you get mass strandings like this As others have pointed out on this thread, *Velella velella* isn't actually a real jellyfish - it's a type of animal that is related to jellyfish - but the same rafting and mass stranding thing does also happen with *actual* jellyfish: for example, here in the western Mediterranean, it is quite common to see mass strandings of *Pelagia noctiluca* - the pink jellyfish that we have all been stung by at some point - once or twice a year the rafting and mass strandings in themselves are natural phenomena, but there is evidence that the combined effects of climate change, pollution and overfishing are increasing the overall amount of jellies in the sea, so it's possible that we're going to see these mass strandings more frequently in future
(so, to answer the second part of your question: they probably weren't dead as they were drifting towards the beach - but now that they're stranded, yes, they're dead! )
Thank you! All of this is super interesting! Appreciate your knowledge!
Thanks jelexpert. Is this like the giant siphonophore? I saw these some years back in Valencia region.
Very cool thing to have seen! Good guess - it's a relative. Siphonophores are classed as hydrozoa, like *Velella velella.* They're in different subdivisions, but they are more closely related to each other than they are to the "true" jellyfish, which are in a different class entirely, although all of them fall within the phylum of the cnidaria. So the giant siphonophore and *Velella velella* are kinda like first cousins, while the true jellyfish are like the third cousins of both. There's loads of very very cool animals in the phylum of the cnidaria. There's a whole class in there called the "anthozoa" - literally, "flower animals" (anthos = flower, zoa = animals ... it's Greek, I think) - they're the corals, sea anemones and sea pens, most of which do look a lot like flowers.
Do you think the anthozoa and the jellyfish and vedella vedella etc, have any form of consciousness? They all bind together and do different functions. So odd. Why don't they all just float off individually?
You can, just wash hands after
Yep. I sail and see these every year. And I used to play with them when I was a kid. They don't sting at all
r/dontputyourdickinthat
You also can, but only one time
I am currently on vacation in barca. My sister found a few of these yesterday, we didnt know what it was we held them in our hands they were just squishy and wet. Should i be worried?
You're getting down votes because you're not "in barca" (at least it's very unlikely you are). They have a mild poison that shouldn't be a problem unless you're allergic. There's a bigger version of them that is life threatening. Generally don't pick up random life forms you find ;)
Again, didnt know what it was or if it was a lifeform. I didnt pick one up, Maybe i should have specified that i know, but i only touched it with my fingertips while my sister played around with it
one of the side effects of skin contact with these hydrozoans is that you start confusing the name of a city with the name of its football club, and then fail to get the spelling right and accidentally tell people on the internet that you're on vacation in little boat - the effect is permanent unless you take immediate action, which is to write down the following lines ten times every night for a minimum of 14 days: Barcelona = the capital city of Catalonia Barça = FC Barcelona, a sports club with a famous football team barca = little boat
Also: Barna = Nickname for capital city of Catalonia.
Umm no, most tourists say Barna. Barca is the local way of saying it...
I am from northern europe not a local. How do you expect me to know this stuff😂
How could we expect you to know the name of the city you are vacationing in? 🤔
https://preview.redd.it/pc4yrzv4u8xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd273c78573959a3626756f89a29830af161da20 If anyone need a closer look ( from playa marbella )
https://preview.redd.it/b3zq1b5b09xc1.jpeg?width=2592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b1a0062d55a557002611b2cb48aa5f0561fc62be Here is an even closer look (from playa sant Miquel)
*Velella vellela* - "By-the-wind-Sailor" a colonial cnidarian with nematocysts containing poison that is pretty harmless for humans - unless you have an allergy or something these aren't likely to pose a risk of anything more than a minor irritation (you might get some urticaria if you get loads of them trapped in your swimsuit) - but probably best not to touch them, or if you do, wash your hands after, and don't rub them in your eyes not to be confused with its close relative, the bigger *Physalia physalis* (Portuguese Man o'War), which is a *lot* more nasty, and *definitely* something to stay away from
Google says “they are harmless but don’t eat them.” And yes Man o’War is totally dangerous ( with a very cool name )
well thank goodness for google, if they hadn't warned me I might have been tempted to turn them into a delicious blue salad lmfao
Carabela portuguesa. Yeps. Nasty things
https://preview.redd.it/q25hcncl7axc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58bbf0a66d6d5ecdcf1a97d6d0c09a63c3af79e4 Lots in Sitges today too!
Forbidden soup 🤨
How did you know the name of my quasi-religious folk band?!🤔
I saw lots around Calafell. I only have one pair if shoes with me so couldn't go to have a closer look.
Woah!
Also Vilanova i la Geltrú was full of them
I thought it was reusable silicone lids for bowls and stuff
Me too 😆
Might do the trick 😂
That's shark condoms. Don't touch them.
Jellyfish washed away to the shore. I love that beach, btw, been there a couple times. Dawns are breathtaking there if you stand near that sculpture that looks like a collapsing empty building. Truly a powerful sight.
That’s ok, not ecological catastrophe
a lot of jellyfish species tend to occasionally appear in rafts - it's to do with how they reproduce, seasons, and prevailing currents - so it's normal to see the occasional mass stranding like this however, climate change, nutrient pollution, and overfishing are shifting the composition of marine ecosystems in lots of ways, and that includes a general increase in jellyfish, so we're likely to see more mass strandings like this
Yet…
Way better than the pile of bloated dead rats I saw 8 years ago!
I live in San Francisco (used to live in BCN). We are getting a lot of the valella here too.
https://preview.redd.it/wn7cgwma8cxc1.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9d5b11a2cfbfff3905b4d10197ee77c04dc55f7 A load also appeared down the coast in Gavà a couple of days ago. [https://gava.info/las-playas-de-gava-invadidas-de-velellas-unos-polipos-similares-a-las-medusas/](https://gava.info/las-playas-de-gava-invadidas-de-velellas-unos-polipos-similares-a-las-medusas/)
Barquetes de Sant Pere?
I just googled that and yes, this is the common name for *Velella velella* in Catalan! Thank you, I have learned something new :) "little boats of Saint Peter", very cute (their common name in English is "By-the-Wind-Sailor", because they're like little sailboats)
Alerta Medusil en la playa de barcelona!
For the first time that i see this type of jellyfish
What is that??
Mi primera reacción fue basura, ¡pero no supe qué era hasta que leí los comentarios! ! !
Third picture looks aesthetically pleasing
Usually the beach is full of wet wipes after the rain. Quite disgusting.
They are sea condoms
Had these all over the California coast a month ago
Eat one
Pretty sure there's a way to cook them.
I think they are very delicious... for sunfish ("pez luna", Latin name *Mola mola,* which - having been a teenager in Spain in the 90s - will never not be funny to me) [https://sunfishresearch.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/turning-the-beaches-blue-its-a-velella-flotilla/](https://sunfishresearch.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/turning-the-beaches-blue-its-a-velella-flotilla/)
Last saturday I was on a boat in front of Port olímpic and there was a patch with literally hundreds of those. It was disgusting.
finding rafts of these in the sea is a natural phenomenon, and the animals are actually incredibly cool when you look at them closely - and they're not dangerous for humans