© Tiffany Boothe / Seaside AquariumBluish Velella velella sea creatures have washed up by the thousands on Oregon beaches in recent days, including at Seaside and near Fort Stevens.
Countless jelly-like sea creatures called by-the-wind sailors have once again washed ashore in Oregon, creating what some call a "blue tide" at beaches along the coastline.
Formally known as Velella velella, the tiny gelatinous creatures have a tendency to get stranded in innumerable heaps along the coast, driven ashore by strong summer and spring winds. As the name suggests, by-the-wind sailors utilize clear, triangular sails to travel across the surface of the ocean, drifting where the breeze takes them.
Originally classified as a jelly, researchers have since recognized the creature as a unique species of hydrozoan, a class of predatory salt water animals. Each apparent individual is actually a complex colony of all-male or all-female polyps, connected by a canal system that transports food and waste. As by-the-wind sailors drift across the surface of the ocean they feed on plankton, stinging them with barb-tipped cells inside their tentacles.
The venom poses no threat to humans, but the folks at the Oregon Coast Aquarium caution against any physical interaction just in case.
The "blue tide" is indeed a spectacular blue or purple color when the creatures first wash ashore, but as they die they turn a flakey and lifeless white - with an accompanying stench to boot.
The first waves have been washing ashore for several weeks, but expect more blue tides this spring on the Oregon coast.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter