The fantastically named “blue dragon” is an ocean dwelling animal which looks as impressive as it sounds. They are in fact a type of sea slug (nudibranch), but these flashy slugs boast an incredible defense mechanism that sets them apart from their garden-variety cousins. The blue dragon—Glaucus atlanticus—has been known to scientists for over 300 years. Often ending up in rocky pools between high tides, their beauty belies a fearsome weapon. To avoid predators, this sea slug ingests the stinging cells of a Portuguese man o’ war (or bluebottle), and cleverly transfers the sting to the tips of its cerata, its wing-like appendages on the sides of its body. The ingested cells then become the blue dragon’s own formidable defense. “Ever since I can remember I’ve seen them washed up on local beaches,” said sea slug expert Steve Smith, director of the National Marine Science Centre at Southern Cross University …
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