A mostly harmless species of jellyfish that shares similar features of Portuguese Man O’War has shown up on our local beaches.
It is called a Velella Velella, but those familiar with the creature might call it a “purple sailors” or “by-the-wind sailors.” They are nicknamed this because they are purple and tend to wash up wherever the wind happens to take them.
According to National Geographic, these little guys have been washing up all over the country, and now we are seeing them pop up in the Gulf Of Mexico.
They look a little bit like a Portuguese Man O’War, but unlike the Man O’War, the purple sailors’ sting poses little threat to humans. However, touching them is not advised, Kevin Raskoff, a marine biologist at Monterey Peninsula College in central California told National Geographic that touching them with your fingers won’t hurt, but if you rub your eyes or a more sensitive part of your skin, “you’re going to feel it.”
