There are many unique animals out there and mine is one of them. My animal is the By-the-wind-sailor. The By-the-wind-sailor is bluish or sometimes even purple in color. It is a fairly small animal whose size is up to three inches (eight centimeters). If you think you see a By-the-wind-sailor then look for their identifying characteristic which is the clear flap on its back.

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Next, this animal is a marine animal and gets blown onto beaches when it is windy. They are found on the surface of warmer waters of the world’s oceans. The By-the-wind-sailors do so well in that environment because they are so light and plankton, which are their prey, also prefer warmer waters. The By-the-wind-sailor’s size might not be that big but their population is pretty big. On some parts of beaches there can be about one million! The population recently has been growing a lot. Since their prey is plankton they don’t have to compete with many other fish for food. Their main predators are the Sunfish and the Violet Sea Snail.

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I have learned a lot about the By-the-wind-sailor and by now so should you. These animals really stood out to me as I learned that they intoxicate their prey and then eat it and I have never seen anything quite like this animal before.

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Author: Alexis M.

Published: 03/2008

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Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velella http://jellieszone.com/velella.htm

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Photo Credit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vellae.jpg