Sea Swallow Research Paper

The sea swallow, scientifically known as Glaucus atlanticus, is one of the oddest creatures the ocean has to offer. Technically a type of sea slug, it floats on the surface upside-down, with its belly (or “foot”) and mouth facing toward the sky. It has the appearance of a tapered cross with six arms instead of two, each arm culminating in a burst of short radiating tentacles, cetera, which give the impression of feathered wings. Most of its body is a bright silvery blue, while a richer navy colors the two silver stripes that run down its center and the tips of its cetera. Its appearance, overall, has proven quite striking -- It has led to such eclectic common names as the blue angel, blue dragon, and sea lizard. Despite all of these unusual attributes, though, if I were to be a marine invertebrate, the sea swallow is the one which I would choose. …show more content…
Unlike most planktonic organisms, though, which are practically defenseless against whatever other creatures they may encounter, the sea swallow has a secret weapon. Its main sources of prey include one of the most venomous colonial invertebrates to man, the portuguese man o’ war jellyfish, as well as various similar animals whose stingers are usually fatal only to fish. Not only is it capable of tearing stinging tentacles from these creatures to consume, but the sea swallow also has the astounding ability to incorporate its prey’s nematocysts, whole and undigested, into its own body. It has even been reported that the sea swallow is able to select and concentrate the most venomous nematocysts from its meals, resulting in a sting stronger than the man o’ war jelly