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29-563: (Redirected from Blue Dragons ) Blue Dragon may refer to: Biology [ edit ] Glaucus atlanticus , a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae Glaucus marginatus , a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae Pteraeolidia ianthina , a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae Media [ edit ] Franchise [ edit ] Blue Dragon franchise of video games, manga and anime Blue Dragon (video game) ,
58-539: A cryptic species complex of four separate species that live in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It shares the common name "blue dragon" with Pteraeolidia ianthina and G. marginatus . At maturity, G. atlanticus is usually around 3 cm (1.2 in) in length, though larger specimens have been found. It can live up to a year under the right conditions. It is silvery grey on its dorsal side and dark and pale blue ventrally. It has dark blue stripes on its head. It has
87-532: A 2006 video game for the Xbox 360. Blue Dragon (manga) , also known as Blue Dragon Ral Ω Grad , a manga adaptation of the video game series Blue Dragon (TV series) , an anime adaptation of the video game series Books [ edit ] Blue Dragon , a novel in The Dark Heavens trilogy by Kylie Chan The Blue Dragon: A Robert Strand Mystery , a novella by Ronald Tierney The Blue Dragon ,
116-604: A contrasting color, which act as gills. All species of genuine sea slugs have a selected prey animal on which they depend for food, including certain jellyfish , bryozoans , sea anemones , plankton , and other species of sea slugs. Sea slugs have brains. For example, Aplysia californica has a brain of about 20,000 nerve cells. The name "sea slug" is often applied to numerous different evolutionary lineages of marine gastropod molluscs or sea snails , specifically those gastropods that are either not conchiferous (shell-bearing) or appear not to be. In evolutionary terms, losing
145-589: A flat, tapering body and six appendages that branch out into rayed, finger-like cerata. Cerata , also known as papillae, extend laterally from three different pairs of peduncles. The papillae are placed in a single row (uniseriate) and may number up to 84 in total. G. atlanticus is usually found in tropical/subtropical areas, floating at the ocean's surface due to the stored gulped air inside its stomach. It usually feeds on cnidarians, which can be noisy due to air escaping its stomach as it feeds. The radula of this species bears serrated teeth, which paired with
174-1299: A novel by Robert Lepage , Marie Michaud, and Fred Jourdain The Blue Dragon , a novel by Kirk Munroe Blue Dragon, a tavern in Charles Dickens' novel Martin Chuzzlewit Tabletop game [ edit ] Blue dragon ( Dungeons & Dragons ) , a type of dragon in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game Television and film [ edit ] The Blue Dragon , a 1919 German silent film directed by Harry Piel Blue Dragon Film Awards , an annual South Korean film awards ceremony Sports [ edit ] Belgrade Blue Dragons , an American football club based in Belgrade, Serbia Cardiff City Blue Dragons , former Rugby League team in Wales Hutchinson Blue Dragons , sports teams for Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S. Other [ edit ] Azure Dragon , also known as Blue Dragon (蒼龍 Cānglóng), one of
203-479: A process in which the slug absorbs chloroplasts from the algae it eats, and uses "stolen" cells to photosynthesize sugars. The ruffles of the lettuce sea slug increase the slug's surface area, allowing the cells to absorb more light. Headshield slugs, like the Chelidonura varians , use their shovel-shaped heads to dig into the sand, where they spend most of their time. The shield also protects sand from entering
232-403: A significantly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is often applied to nudibranchs and a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without apparent shells . Sea slugs have an enormous variation in body shape, color, and size. Most are partially translucent. The often bright colors of reef -dwelling species imply that these animals are under constant threat of predators. Still,
261-441: A strong jaw and denticles, allows it to grasp and "chip down" parts of its prey. With the aid of a gas-filled sac in its stomach, G. atlanticus floats at the surface. Due to the location of the gas sac, this species floats upside down. The upper surface is actually the foot (the underside in other slugs and snails), and this has either a blue or blue-white coloration. The true dorsal surface (carried downwards in G. atlanticus )
290-406: Is completely silver-grey. This coloration is an example of countershading , which helps protect it from predators that might attack from below and from above. The blue coloration is also thought to reflect harmful ultraviolet sunlight. This nudibranch is pelagic , and some evidence indicates that it occurs throughout the world's oceans, in temperate and tropical waters. It has been recorded from
319-467: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Glaucus atlanticus Glaucus atlanticus (common names include the blue sea dragon , sea swallow , blue angel , blue glaucus , dragon slug , blue dragon , blue sea slug , and blue ocean slug ) is a species of sea slug in the family Glaucidae . These sea slugs live in the pelagic zone (open ocean), where they float upside-down by using
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#1733086294285348-509: Is not globally panmictic , but is localized within ocean basins. Gene flow among Afro-Eurasian and American populations is thus hindered by physical obstructions and water temperatures in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. G. atlanticus can swallow the venomous nematocysts from siphonophores , such as the Portuguese man o' war, and store them in the extremities of its finger-like cerata. Picking up
377-506: The Bay of Bengal and off the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, over 677 km apart. G. atlanticus was also recently found off Bermuda in January 2016, and uncommonly washes ashore on east coast beaches at Barbados, Lesser Antilles. Although these sea slugs live on the open ocean, they sometimes accidentally wash up onto the shore, so they may be found on beaches. In April 2022, specimens were found in
406-452: The Portuguese man o' war and other venomous siphonophores . This sea slug stores stinging nematocysts from the siphonophores within its own tissues as defence against predators. Humans handling the slug may receive a very painful and potentially dangerous sting. This species looks similar to, and is closely related to, G. marginatus , which is now understood to be not one species, but
435-467: The surface tension of the water to stay afloat. They are carried along by the winds and ocean currents. G. atlanticus makes use of countershading ; the blue side of their bodies faces upwards, blending in with the blue of the water. The silver/grey side of the sea slug faces downwards, blending in with the sunlight reflecting on the ocean's surface when viewed from below the surface of the water. G. atlanticus feeds on other pelagic creatures, including
464-635: The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas in Chinese religion Blue Dragon (military unit) , nickname of 2nd Marine Brigade of Republic of Korea Marine Corps Odeleite River , Portugal See also [ edit ] Blue Dragon Children's Foundation , a Non Governmental Organisation based in Hanoi, Vietnam focused on getting children out of the poverty cycle Dragon Bleu , a French brand of vodka Topics referred to by
493-547: The Gulf of Mexico along the Texas coast. On August 31, 2023, blue sea slugs were reported to be found along Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand. G. atlanticus preys on other larger pelagic organisms. The sea slugs can move toward prey or mates by using their cerata , the thin feather-like "fingers" on its body, to make slow swimming movements. They are known to prey on the dangerously venomous Portuguese man o' war ( Physalia physalis ),
522-435: The animal can result in a painful sting, with symptoms similar to those caused by the Portuguese man o' war. The symptoms that may appear after being stung are nausea , pain , vomiting , acute allergic contact dermatitis , erythema , urticarial papules , potential vesicle formation and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation . In 2023, Julian Obayd, a TikTok user whose videos focus on marine life, went viral after going to
551-520: The by-the-wind-sailor ( Velella velella ), the blue button ( Porpita porpita ), and the violet snail, Janthina janthina . Occasionally, individuals attack and eat other individuals in captivity. The species is able to feed on the Portuguese man o' war due to its immunity to the venomous nematocysts . The slug consumes chunks of the organism and appears to select and store the most venomous nematocysts for its own use against future prey. The nematocysts are collected in specialized sacs ( cnidosacs ) at
580-412: The color can warn other animals of the sea slug's toxic stinging cells ( nematocysts ) or offensive taste. Like all gastropods , they have small, razor-sharp teeth called radulas . Most sea slugs have a pair of rhinophores —sensory tentacles used primarily for the sense of smell—on their head, with a small eye at the base of each rhinophore. Many have feathery structures ( cerata ) on the back, often in
609-464: The east and south coasts of South Africa, European waters, the east coast of Australia, and Mozambique. Observations in 2015 and 2016 suggested that the G. atlanticus species' geographical range had increased northward by 150 km in the Gulf of California compared with previous sightings. Since the middle of the 19th century, records of this species have been reported on the Azores . G. atlanticus
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#1733086294285638-577: The hospital for several Blue Dragon stings. In the viral video, Obayd claimed he had been stung when moving a group of Blue Dragons drying out in the sand and warned viewers about the risk of being stung. Sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs . Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods , i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks ) that, over evolutionary time, have either entirely lost their shells or have seemingly lost their shells due to having
667-632: The informal taxonomic group Opisthobranchia : There is also one group of "sea slugs" within the informal group Pulmonata : Like many nudibranchs, Glaucus atlanticus can store and use stinging cells, or nematocysts , from its prey ( Portuguese man o' war ) in its finger-like cerata . Other species, like the Pyjama slug Chromodoris quadricolor , may use their striking colors to advertise their foul chemical taste. The lettuce sea slug ( Elysia crispata ) has lettuce-like ruffles that line its body. This slug, like other Sacoglossa , uses kleptoplasty ,
696-499: The mantle during burrowing. Peronia indica is a species of air-breathing sea slug, a shell-less marine pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Onchidiidae . The largest species of sea hare, the California black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria can reach a length of 75 centimetres (30 in) and a weight of 14 kilograms (31 lb). Most sea hares have several defenses; in addition to being naturally toxic, they can eject
725-409: The most familiar sort of sea slug. Although most nudibranchs are not large, they are often very eye-catching because so many species have brilliant coloration. In addition to nudibranchs, a number of other taxa of marine gastropods (some easily mistaken for nudibranchs) are also often called "sea slugs". Within the various groups of gastropods that are called "sea slugs", numerous families are within
754-419: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Blue Dragon . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Dragon&oldid=1230540420 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
783-450: The shell altogether, having a small internal shell, or having a shell so small that the soft parts of the animal cannot retract into it, are all features that have evolved many times independently within the class Gastropoda, on land and in the sea; these features often cause a gastropod to be labeled with the common name "slug". Nudibranchs (clade Nudibranchia ) are a large group of marine gastropods that have no shell at all. These may be
812-694: The tip of the animal's cerata. Because G. atlanticus concentrates the venom, it can produce a more powerful and deadly sting than the man o' war on which it feeds. Like almost all heterobranchs , blue dragons are hermaphrodites and their male reproductive organs have evolved to be especially large and hooked to avoid their partner's venomous cerata. Unlike most nudibranchs, which mate with their right sides facing, sea swallows mate with ventral sides facing. After mating, both individuals are able to lay eggs and can release up to 20 on an egg string, often laying them in wood pieces or carcasses. On average, G. atlanticus can lay 55 egg strings per hour. G. atlanticus
841-621: Was recently found in the Humboldt Current ecosystem in Peru in 2013, and off Andhra Pradesh in India in 2012. This is in line with the known habitat characteristics of the species; they thrive in warm, temperate climates in the Southern Pacific, and in circumtropical and Lusitanian environments . Before finding G. atlanticus off Andhra Pradesh, these nudibranchs were documented as having been seen in
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