Thousands of Unusual Blue Creatures Appear on California Beaches

Newsweek ^ | 4/11/23 AT 12:09 PM EDT | JESS THOMSON

[Red Badger]

Bizarre blue blobs have washed up en masse on beaches across South California—but they aren't jellyfish or Portuguese Man O' War as one might expect.

Photographs of the strange gathering were uploaded to social media by Point Reyes National Seashore, which stated that these creatures are actually Velella velella, also known as By-the-Wind Sailors. This was also backed up by Rita F. T. Pires, a research assistant at the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere.

"The species usually forms large agglomerations when beached, as pictured, so it seems it could be the case," she told Newsweek.

Velella velella are hydroid polyps (jelly-fish like creatures) that float on the ocean surface for their whole lives. They are usually only around 2 to 3 inches long and have a rigid "sail" on their backs that allow them to move in the wind, which can often result in them being blown toward land.

[gundog]

Dogs eat ‘em, if that counts for anything.

[teeman8r]

dogs also eat cat poop... so

[bigbob]

Fry ‘em up!

[Libloather]

Leftist commies? How many? Probably won’t effect fraudulent vote totals.

[windsorknot]

[N. Theknow]

Hmmm. Thought it was going to be cans of Bud Light.

[Albion Wilde]

[T. Rustin Noone]

They are Tide Pods in the larval stage.