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// The Blue Dragon Slug 
// Story: Nature is So Fascinating 
// by Powderjaggy 
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Photo credit: Dapete


"Hello, class. In this jug of water here is a new friend I met at the beach. They're quite small, so you may have to come up to the front to get a good look at them. They are a blue dragon slug.

"I know they don't look much like a dragon, Smolder, but they really are a slug. There are many types of slugs that live in the sea. Some of them crawl on the sea floor, however blue dragon slugs carry a bubble of air in their bodies so they can float on the surface of the water. They spend most of their lives far from shore, but I found this one washed up on the beach. Luckily, I placed them in this jug of water before they could dry out in the sun.

"If you look carefully, you can see that they are floating upside-down. Their underside is pointing upward; this is the 'foot' that other slugs use for crawling on. As you can see, their underside is blue, which hides them against the ocean from predators viewing them from above, like seabirds. Their back, which points downward, is a silvery color to camouflage them against the sky from predators viewing them from below, like fish.

"They may not look like it, but blue dragon slugs are carnivores. They feed on other animals floating at the ocean surface, like jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals called siphonophores. Jellyfish and siphonophores have venomous, stinging tentacles, but blue dragon slugs aren't bothered by these. If I had two blue dragon slugs in the same jug, I would be worried that one of them would eat the other! They have strong jaws, so they can hang onto their prey even while drifting in rough seas.

"Um, I wouldn't put your claws in there if I were you, Silverstream. You're too big for a blue dragon slug to eat, but it can still give you a painful sting. They collect the stinging cells of their prey and store them in those fin-like structures you can see on either side of them, which means that any other creature that tries to touch them will also get stung! This gives them extra protection from predators.

"Like many other slugs and snails, each blue dragon slug is both male and female. After two of them mate, both lay strings of eggs that they attach to floating objects, including the remains of their prey. It's a little grisly, yes.

"I think that will be all for today; I've kept this slug away from their home long enough. I should go and return them to the ocean. Have a lovely day, everycreature, and stay kind to each other."