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BLUE DRAGONS (Glaucus atlanticus)

21st December, 2023

BLUE DRAGONS (Glaucus atlanticus)

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Context

  • For the past two days, blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus), a type of sea slug, have been spotted on the beach and in waters near the shore in Besant Nagar.

All about Blu Dragon

  • The blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus) is a type of mollusk, or sea slug, known as a nudibranch.
  • It can be found on the surface of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
  • These sea slugs are pelagic; they float upside down by using the surface tension of the water to stay up, where they are carried along by the winds and ocean currents.
  • This ornate creature rarely grows larger than three centimeters long or just over one inch.
  • The blue side of its body acts as camouflage against the backdrop of ocean waves, while the pearlized silver/grey side blends in with the bright sea surface, hiding it from predators below.
  • Glaucus atlanticus feed on other aquatic creatures - that is, those that live near the water's surface.
  • The blue dragon stores the man o’ war’s stinging nematocysts within its finger-like appendages, making itself equally venomous to predators.
  • One sting from it can lead to nausea, pain, vomiting, acute allergic contact dermatitis, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Blue Glaucus Conservation

  • They are listed by the IUCN as endangered.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Recently, Blue Dragon was in the news. What is it?

1.Seahorse

2. Mollusk

3.Orca

4.Eel

Choose the correct code.

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D

Answer 

Option 2.B