CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – There are dragons at the beach in Texas. They’re not fire-breathing, but they do pack a punch.
Jace Tunnell with the Harte Research Institute posted images of the blue dragons on Facebook on Tuesday, saying he found around 20 in a short stretch of the beach at North Padre Island and Mustang Island.
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Blue glaucus, known more commonly as a blue dragon, is a type of nudibranch or sea slug.
“These tiny creatures are absolutely stunning — but do NOT touch them," the Facebook post reads.
They feed on Portuguese man o’ war and store the man o’ war’s stinging cells.
They “concentrate” the cells, meaning “their sting can be extremely painful,” Tunnell wrote.
“Even when washed up on the beach, they can still sting,” he added.
The post adds that, along with blue dragons, strong winds are also bringing in Portuguese man o’ wars, blue buttons, by-the-wind sailors and purple sea snails.
Tunnell says oceanographers sometimes call this group the “Blue Wave.”
In a previous interview with KSAT, Tunnell said he recognized the sea slugs after the May 2020 reports of blue dragons on the beach at Padre Island National Seashore.
PINS park officials also told KSAT at the time that the sea slugs were a rare find.
“The ocean is amazing… but sometimes the most beautiful creatures come with a sting," Tunnell said in Tuesday’s post.