Strange sea creatures washing ashore along the West Coast

[mfcorey1]

http://kfor.com/2014/08/19/strange-sea-creatures-washing-ashore-along-the-west-coast/

OXNARD, Calif. (CNN) – Thousands of strange sea creatures are washing ashore on beaches across the West Coast, confusing tourists and thrilling scientists.

“The scientific name is Velella velella,” said David Bader, director of education at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. “They’re jelly-like creatures, but they’re not exactly jellyfish.”

The creatures have a clear, distinctive fin sticking up from a blue, oval body no larger than the palm of your hand.

“Every now and then, the currents and the winds will change and these guys will, instead of being pushed out to sea, they actually wind up on the beach,” Bader told CNN.

Experts say the creatures, also known as by-the-wind sailors, sting but humans shouldn’t be concerned.

“That sting is not very potent. It’s nothing that could actually get through my skin,” Bader said.

Velella velella feeds on plankton and fish eggs caught with tentacles that hang down from its jelly-like body.

The creatures float on top of the ocean with their fins sticking straight up so they can flow with the tide.

[In_The_Wind]

1. That's really interesting information. Thanks.

[MineralMan]

2. I lived on the California coast for most of my 69 years.

Velella have washed up on the shore every year of that time. Every year. They're a commonplace on the California coast. They're not unusual in any way. They're very interesting, to be sure, but they're far from strange or rare. Every year they show up.

[upaloopa]

4. I live on the Central Coast and I have seen them

most years also. I saw one a couple of weeks ago.

[MineralMan]

5. I lived there, too, for over 30 years, in Los Osos.

My daily walk on the shores of Morro Bay led me to see them at some point every year. They're common, although they only appear for a short time each Summer. Cute little lifeforms.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. This is, however, a larger event than the yearly beachings, not only in numbers but in locations

The West Coast heads up north considerably past Morro Bay, and large numbers are being seen in places that usually do not see any at all. The scale of this particular event is not unprecedented, but it is something seen only about once a decade or so. I agree the creatures themselves are not strange nor is their washing ashore rare, but the size of this particular event does explain the attention it is getting.

[MineralMan]

10. Differing weather patterns lead to more or less of these

creatures washing ashore every year. I've seen masses of them in some years, and just a few in others.

But they're not uncommon. Rather, they're a familiar thing to most coastal residents. The "Gee Whiz" nature of this article, written by someone in Oxnard, CA, where they're also commonly seen, is what bothers me. I've also lived in Ventura County, where Oxnard is located, and saw them every year there, too.

Apparently, they were new to this writer, though. They're far from unusual, though, to people who frequent California beaches. It just all depends on whether the wind brings them onshore each year, and how many there were out there to wash up. They appear every year on California beaches. Every year.

They're very interesting, to be sure. A little research on the part of the writer, though, would have prevented the "Gee Whiziness" of the story.

[csziggy]

3. They're kind of pretty - beautiful blue color

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velella

[upaloopa]

6. Washed up on the beach they look like a clear glob

of jelly

[csziggy]

7. Nothing looks pretty when it's dying or dead

The Wikipedia article has a picture of "stranded" ones and they look like dull blue grey semi-clear blobs. Not so pretty.

[JEB]

9. We get them here on the Oregon coast most years, depending on wind.

They spend their lives drifting with the wind at sea, but this can lead to massive numbers washing ashore. If its warm and dry, it gets quite stinky.

[MineralMan]

11. Boy, just wait until this budding news writer in California sees some

of these on the beach:



They're the egg cases of the common skate, and they also wash up on shore from time to time, especially in sheltered bays. Now, these are really, really confusing to people who aren't regular beach ramblers.

About 20 years ago, a friend of my wife's and her family visited us in our little Central Coast home. They live in Minnesota, where I live now. I led everyone on a nature walk along our coastline. that day, there were dozens of these so-called "Mermaids' Purses" along one of the beaches we walked on.

I explained what they were, and provided some background. "No way!" the 9 year old daughter of the family said. Years later, after we moved to Minnesota, we were at that family's house. The daughter, now in her 20s, went up to her room and brought that skate egg case down to show me. It was her treasure from that trip.

Here's another type of egg case, from a different shark species I often saw:

[upaloopa]

12. We go to Pirates Cove in Avila most weekends in the summer

and walk up and down the beach looking for unusual things.

[MineralMan]

13. Nice place. I've been there many times.

[upaloopa]

14. It now is a park of San Luis Obispo County and they

wanted to develop it which would ruin it. The Coastal Commission stopped them fortunately.