Plenty of random stuff wash up on beaches , tramp fromrubber duck’s egg to a elephantine orb . Now small blue creatures resemble melted plastic are come out on Californian beaches — again .
Smithsonianreports that beachgoers in the Bay Area have been spotting flocks of the blue , jelly - like animal by the thousands . They ’re calledVelella velella , or “ by - the - wind navy man , ” because they have a social structure that resembles a sail , letting them catch breezes and locomotion on sea currents . Their sails are even angled differently depending on where they are in the globe due to regional wind current . accordingly , those in the Northern Hemisphere are for the most part “ left - handed , ” while those in the Southern Hemisphere are mostly “ mightily - handed . ” accord to the Pacific Beach Coalition , these creatures resemble jellyfish but are actually a unlike , related species . The blob are loose - float hydroid , which bob on the water ’s surface . Unlike jellyfish , which can swim , by - the - idle words sailors ca n’t move on their own .
The beast may search mysterious , but they ’ve shown up on California ’s shoreline before and will continue to do so . Raphael Kudela , a marine scientist , tellsSmithsonianthat by - the - lead sailors typically wash out up on northerly Californian beach during the spring or former summertime because of upwelling . This happens when strong winding shift deeper , cold , alimentary - plenteous water to the control surface . As a result , large groups ofVelellaare caught by the currents and crusade ashore . This can make the tiny fauna lose their pigmentation and become sheer . A 2021studysuggests that the increasedVelellastrandings might be connected to rising ocean temperatures , though more inquiry is needed on the theme .
Their numbers may seem restrain , but the animal are generally harmless . However , Carolyn Belak , an aquatic ecologist , tellsSFGATEthat theVelella’sstingers can get to the skin , so it ’s best not to touch them .
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