732:. The deep blue, by-the-wind sailors that are recognized by many beach-goers are the polyp phase of the life cycle. Each "individual" with its sail is really a hydroid colony, with many polyps that feed on ocean plankton. These are connected by a canal system that enables the colony to share whatever food is ingested by individual polyps. Each by-the-wind sailor is a colony of all-male or all-female polyps. The colony has several different kinds of polyps, some of which are both feeding and reproductive, called
784:
633:
66:
44:
823:, while at the same time, other authors favored again placing them in the Anthomedusae/Athecatae. Most authors in the past 40 years have accepted interpretation of these animals as unusual floating colonial athecate hydroids, which produce medusae clearly belonging in the Anthomedusae. Although the exact position of the family Porpitidae within the Athecatae/Anthomedusae is not yet clear, the order
697:
685:
north and moving south over several weeks' time. In some years, so many animals are left at the tide line by receding waves, that the line of dying (and subsequently rotting) animals may be many centimetres deep, along hundreds of kilometres of beaches. Mass strandings have been reported also on the west coast of
Ireland, and in
622:
570:
Each apparent individual is a hydroid colony, and most are less than about 7 cm long. They are usually deep blue in colour, but their most obvious feature is a small stiff sail that catches the wind and propels them over the surface of the sea. Under certain wind conditions, they may be stranded
684:
is at the mercy of prevailing winds for moving around the seas, and are thereby also subject to mass-strandings on beaches throughout the world. For example, a mass stranding occurs most years in the spring along the West Coast of North
America, from British Columbia to California, beginning in the
815:. The systematic position of these peculiar genera has long been a topic of discussion among taxonomists who work with pelagic Cnidaria. The three genera were put in with athecate hydroids in the mid-to-late 19th century by some, whereas other authors at the time included them in the
766:
are rarely captured in the plankton and very little is known about their natural history. The medusae develop to sexual maturity within about three weeks in the laboratory and their free-spawned eggs and sperm develop into a planktonic larva called a
610:
s nematocysts are relatively benign to humans, although each person may respond differently to contact with the nematocyst toxin. It is wise to avoid touching one's face or eyes after handling
606:
in their nematocysts are effective against their prey. While cnidarians all possess nematocysts, in some species the nematocysts and toxins therein are more powerful than other species.
676:
sails always align along the direction of the wind where the sail may act as an aerofoil, so that the animals tend to sail downwind at a small angle to the wind. Having no means of
1361:
758:
organisms typically also found in corals and some sea anemones, that can utilize sunlight to provide energy to the jellyfish. Curiously, although a healthy captive
1400:
1518:
1160:
1503:
1513:
1335:
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1374:
998:
1426:
1498:
657:
lives in warm and temperate waters in all the world's oceans. They live at the water/air interface, with the float above the water, and
1322:
1035:
960:
940:
1080:
1465:
898:
188:
1196:
509:(widely distributed) free-floating hydrozoan that lives on the surface of the open ocean. It is commonly known by the names
1379:
1387:
871:
1120:"Siphonophora of the Indian Ocean: Together with Systematic and Biological Notes on Related Specimens from Other Oceans"
661:
hanging down about a centimetre below. Organisms that live partly in and partly out of the water like this are known as
1151:
1283:
1270:
1164:
1405:
729:
506:
1171:
65:
541:
649:
762:
will release many medusae under the microscope, and are expected to do the same in the sea, the medusae of
1210:
783:
1288:
750:), each about 1 mm high and wide, over several weeks. The tiny medusae are each provided with many
167:
144:
865:
1470:
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1053:
1023:
886:
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60:
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1031:
956:
936:
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1444:
792:
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is part of a specialised ocean surface community that includes the better-known cnidarian
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1262:
1275:
1487:
816:
755:
751:
184:
117:
43:
1301:
1119:
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708:
537:
127:
1101:
Anthomedusae/Athecatae (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) of the
Mediterranean. Part I. Capitata
973:
1452:
1392:
1348:
1242:
704:
696:
1233:
1179:
17:
819:. A new order was established for these genera by Totton, in 1954, called the
599:
552:
496:
922:. Wagner Publishing Company, USA (see pages 138 and 144 in the 1942 edition)
1327:
1135:
733:
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77:
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The small rigid sail projects into the air and catches the wind. However,
1418:
1227:
1189:
721:
690:
614:, and itching may develop on parts of the skin that have been exposed to
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533:
492:
107:
97:
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1340:
870:. Paris, France: by the author and Deterville. p. 555 – via
743:
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548:
807:
of hydroids that live floating free at the surface of the open ocean:
1353:
999:"Uncovering the Neuston, a Mysterious Living Island of Sea Creatures"
951:
Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and
Beckley, L.E. (2010).
804:
87:
1204:
746:, so that each Velella colony produces thousands of tiny jellyfish (
782:
695:
686:
631:
621:
620:
603:
572:
1314:
1431:
583:
1208:
974:"By-the-wind-sailors: Creatures wash up on Guernsey beaches"
803:
The
Porpitidae is a family of the Hydrozoa erected for two
953:
Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa.
739:
The gonozooids each produce numerous tiny jellyfish by an
1161:"Billions of Blue Jelly Fish Wash Up on American Beaches"
1051:
Delap, M. J. (1921). "Drift on the Kerry coast".
1081:"'Thousands' of jellyfish-like creatures swamp beach"
665:. Offshore boaters sometimes encounter thousands of
1217:
1103:. Fauna e Flora del Golfo di Napoli. Vol. 39.
1094:
1092:
1090:
551:prey on these cnidarians. Such predators include
736:, and others protective, called dactylozooids.
827:is no longer used by hydrozoan systematists.
8:
728:has a bipartite life cycle, with a form of
1205:
42:
31:
856:
771:, which develops into a new floating
594:that hang down in the water and bear
7:
955:Cape Town:Struik Nature. page 188.
1519:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
1201:Short documentary films and photos
1186:"Millions of jelly creatures land"
867:Système des animaux sans vertèbres
703:(by-the-wind sailors) stranded on
582:are carnivorous. They catch their
499:family. Its only known species is
25:
1504:Cnidarians of the Atlantic Ocean
899:World Register of Marine Species
64:
1514:Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean
1180:Marine Life Information Network
1028:Principles of Animal Locomotion
561:and purple snails in the genus
455:Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821
383:Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821
351:Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821
1509:Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean
1030:. Princeton University Press.
933:Nudibranchs of Southern Africa
1:
872:Biodiversity Heritage Library
1165:National Geographic Society
1099:A. Brinckmann-Voss (1970).
1535:
1499:Monotypic cnidarian genera
730:alternation of generations
647:
918:Harrington Wells (1937).
885:Schuchert P, ed. (2013).
555:(sea slugs) in the genus
439:Peron & Lesueur, 1807
203:
196:
173:
166:
61:Scientific classification
59:
50:
41:
34:
1107:. pp. 1–96, 11 pls.
644:Distribution and habitat
544:. Specialized predatory
335:Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
931:Gosliner, T.M. (1987).
895:World Hydrozoa database
864:Lamarck, J. B. (1801).
689:, on the west coast of
650:Ocean surface ecosystem
444:Velella septentrionalis
1152:Animal Diversity Web:
1118:Totton, A. K. (1954).
800:
712:
669:on the water surface.
640:
629:
1024:McNeill Alexander, R.
786:
699:
680:other than its sail,
635:
624:
578:Like other Cnidaria,
542:Portuguese man o' war
1192:. November 27, 2006.
1054:The Irish Naturalist
428:Velella sandwichiana
364:Velella meridionalis
27:Species of cnidarian
1198:Plankton Chronicles
798:Cambria, California
571:by the thousand on
460:Velella tentaculata
412:Velella pyramidalis
244:Armenista sigmoides
1105:Stazione Zoologica
845:Glaucus atlanticus
801:
713:
641:
630:
515:by-the-wind sailor
420:Velella radackiana
404:Velella patellaris
332:Velella emarginata
292:Velella antarctica
252:Holothuria spirans
1481:
1480:
1440:Open Tree of Life
1211:Taxon identifiers
1172:Jellieszone.com:
1167:. April 20, 2015.
1124:Discovery Reports
891:(Linnaeus, 1758)"
480:
479:
472:
471:Eschscholtz, 1829
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448:
447:Eschscholtz, 1829
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436:Velella scaphidia
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388:Velella oxyothone
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343:Eschscholtz, 1829
336:
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320:
319:Eschscholtz, 1829
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308:Velella australis
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303:Eschscholtz, 1829
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295:Eschscholtz, 1829
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287:Eschscholtz, 1829
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279:Eschscholtz, 1829
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226:Eschscholtz, 1829
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16:(Redirected from
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793:Palmaria palmata
775:hydroid colony.
754:, single-celled
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452:Velella sinistra
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1308:
1300:
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1276:Velella_velella
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1263:Velella_velella
1261:
1256:
1249:Velella velella
1247:
1246:
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1219:Velella velella
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889:Velella velella
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838:Porpita porpita
833:
796:in a tidepool,
788:Velella velella
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744:budding process
726:Velella velella
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655:Velella velella
652:
646:
580:Velella velella
502:Velella velella
476:
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468:Velella tropica
380:Velella oblonga
356:Velella limbosa
316:Velella caurina
284:Rataria mitrata
276:Rataria cordata
260:Medusa pocillum
207:
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177:Velella velella
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159:V. velella
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53:Velella velella
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1146:External links
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1083:. 4 July 2022.
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372:Velella mutica
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340:Velella indica
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324:Velella cyanea
321:
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300:Velella aurora
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271:Linnaeus, 1758
268:Medusa velella
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756:endosymbiotic
753:
752:zooxanthellae
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711:, California.
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598:(also called
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431:de Haan, 1827
429:
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423:de Haan, 1827
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399:de Haan, 1827
397:
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375:Lamarck, 1801
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359:Lamarck, 1816
357:
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263:Montagu, 1815
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247:Haeckel, 1888
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168:Binomial name
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1007:. Retrieved
1005:. 2021-05-09
1002:
993:
982:. Retrieved
980:. 2024-04-22
977:
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927:
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902:. Retrieved
894:
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821:Chondrophora
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709:Marin County
700:
693:in England.
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586:, generally
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531:
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525:, or simply
522:
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415:Cranch, 1818
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407:Brandt, 1835
403:
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391:Brandt, 1835
387:
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367:Fewkes, 1889
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348:Velella lata
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1453:SeaLifeBase
1349:iNaturalist
1243:Wikispecies
779:Systematics
705:Rodeo Beach
608:V. velella'
600:nematocysts
553:nudibranchs
532:This small
523:little sail
519:purple sail
1494:Porpitidae
1488:Categories
1130:: 1–162 .
1009:2023-05-21
984:2024-04-23
935:page 127,
852:References
734:gonozooids
720:Like many
716:Life cycle
682:V. velella
678:locomotion
667:V. velella
648:See also:
616:V. velella
612:V. velella
596:cnidocysts
497:Porpitidae
239:(Species)
128:Porpitidae
1061:(3): 40.
625:Stranded
592:tentacles
546:gastropod
534:cnidarian
491:genus of
215:Armenista
153:Species:
84:Kingdom:
78:Eukaryota
1367:10942759
1315:46550209
1234:Q1366657
1228:Wikidata
1190:BBC News
1136:14100651
1067:25525026
1026:(2002).
978:BBC News
904:23 April
831:See also
722:Hydrozoa
691:Cornwall
639:close-up
588:plankton
564:Janthina
549:molluscs
511:sea raft
493:hydrozoa
210:(Genus)
198:Synonyms
185:Linnaeus
124:Family:
108:Hydrozoa
98:Cnidaria
94:Phylum:
88:Animalia
74:Domain:
1341:2265793
1174:Velella
1154:Velella
813:Porpita
809:Velella
773:Velella
769:conaria
764:Velella
760:Velella
748:medusae
741:asexual
701:Velella
674:Velella
663:neuston
637:Velella
627:Velella
602:). The
573:beaches
558:Glaucus
527:Velella
495:in the
484:Velella
231:Velaria
223:Rataria
145:Lamarck
139:Velella
134:Genus:
114:Order:
104:Class:
55:colony
36:Velella
1471:117832
1445:707202
1432:117832
1406:264060
1289:124753
1134:
1065:
1034:
959:
939:
805:genera
790:&
659:polyps
604:toxins
540:, the
147:, 1801
1466:WoRMS
1458:44629
1419:27080
1380:51267
1362:IRMNG
1354:59698
1328:37832
1323:EUNIS
1302:7FL3G
1063:JSTOR
687:Hayle
487:is a
1427:OBIS
1401:NCBI
1375:ITIS
1336:GBIF
1284:BOLD
1132:OCLC
1032:ISBN
957:ISBN
937:ISBN
906:2013
811:and
584:prey
505:, a
206:List
189:1758
1388:NBN
1310:EoL
1297:CoL
1271:AFD
1258:ADW
1003:NPR
1490::
1468::
1455::
1442::
1429::
1416::
1403::
1390::
1377::
1364::
1351::
1338::
1325::
1312::
1299::
1286::
1273::
1260::
1245::
1230::
1188:.
1163:.
1128:27
1126:.
1122:.
1089:^
1059:30
1057:.
1001:.
976:.
897:.
893:.
724:,
707:,
575:.
567:.
529:.
521:,
517:,
513:,
187:,
1138:.
1069:.
1040:.
1012:.
987:.
963:.
908:.
887:"
874:.
191:)
183:(
20:)
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