7 rare blue sea dragons spotted off northern Taiwan

台灣北部海域發現 7 條罕見的藍海龍

Blue sea dragons have highly venomous stingers from eating Portuguese man o' war


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — At least seven rare blue sea dragons (Glaucus atlanticus) were spotted in the coastal waters of northern Taiwan on Tuesday (Nov. 21).

The blue sea dragon, dubbed "the most beautiful killer in the ocean," due to its bright blue color and toxic venom, appeared in Keelung's Changtanli Fishing Harbor?intertidal zone on Tuesday, reported Liberty Times. This is the third time the creatures have been documented in Changtanli.

National Museum of Marine Science and Technology official Chen Li-shu (陳麗淑) told LTN it is very rare to see seven blue sea dragons at once. Chen said they are highly venomous and if someone encounters one, they should just appreciate them from a distance and avoid touching them.

The blue sea dragon is a blue-white planktonic organism that resembles Glaucus, a prophetic sea god in Greek mythology. It has fish-like fins on its appendages, hence its comparison to the Greek sea god.

Chen said they are mainly distributed in tropical areas and because Taiwan is in a subtropical zone and Keelung is at the northernmost point, it is rare for them to appear in the area. The first reported sighting of a blue sea dragon in Taiwan was in 2010, with additional sightings in New Taipei City's Feicueiwan in 2011 and Pingtung County's Xiaoliuqiu in 2012, reported UDN.

They were first found in Changtanli on Dec. 1, 2013, with a second sighting reported on Feb. 2, 2021. Tuesday's spotting marked the third time they have been seen in Changtanli.

Chen said blue sea dragons follow the tides and appear together with violet sea snails (Janthina janthina), Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), and blue buttons (Porpita porpita). On Tuesday, violet sea snails and Portuguese man o' war were also found in the area.

According to Chen, blue sea dragons primarily feed on blue buttons and Portuguese man o' war. As the Portuguese man o' war is a highly venomous jellyfish, when the blue sea dragon eats it, the jellyfish's stinging cells are stored in its body, making it venomous as well.

If a member of the public encounters a blue sea dragon, they are advised to admire it from a distance and avoid touching it to prevent stings, said Chen.

On Wednesday afternoon, Chen Hsin-chu (陳信助), the founder of "Hands-on Love Taiwan" (動手愛台灣) wrote that he was finally able to see a specimen up close. He said that due to its tiny size, only about 0.7 cm, and the movement of the water, capturing them on camera was challenging.