The Blue Fleet
The blue fleet is a term coined by Sir Alistair Hardy to describe a community of creatures that float around in the oceans including the bluebottles, sea swallows, violet snails, blue buttons and by the wind sailors. Most people who frequent a beach would have come across at least some of them, probably the bluebottles or the by the wind sailors.
All of these creatures float around on the oceans with the sea swallows feeding on most of them. The venom of the blue bottles do not affect the sea swallows as they eat the tentacles and use the toxins as their own defense, making them more dangerous than the blue bottles!
This project only allows the following obs to be added
- Physalia physalis - Blue bottle
- Porpita porpita - Blue button
- Glaucus atlanticus - Sea swallow
- Velella velella - By the wind sailor
- Janthina janthina - violet sea snail
- Recluzia rollandiana
The banner for this project shows all of these critters.
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I have added the rest of the Janthina genus as they also float around the oceans.
Dont you have the crab?
Columbus Crab: Planes minutus (and P. major - perhaps others?)
I dont think we get Recluzia in our part of the world - southern Africa. At least it is not in our species lists at present ...
There are other species of Recluzia that are recorded from around the bottom of South Africa @tonyrebelo. If you go to the genus page for Recluzia, load the GBIF records on the map you will see some red squares where they have been recorded from.
All Recluzia are pelagic and before they were Pelagic they were Janthina according to WoRMS :)
Will have to look into the crabs.
Thanks for the GBIF headsup - but GBIF is viewed with very great suspicion in southern Africa, so the data probably wont make our lists until the specimens/records have been verified. (unless of course, we still have the species in Janthina).
our record (hopefully migrating soon): https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/southern-africa/view/observation/668805/southeaster-casualty-1
See also Two Oceans 2010: 50.4
We have 2 species of Planes @tonyrebelo - the Planes marinus and the Planes cyaneus and I am waiting for the marine expert of NZ to let me know if these are a part of the blue fleet :) If he says they are I will add them. The P.cyaneus is quite a distinct blue.
Not too sure how to find Two Oceans 2010: 50.4?
2O(2010) It is out southern African marine field guide. - expecting a new edition this year ...
I have added our 2 species of Planes @tonyrebelo as well as the nudibranch Fiona pinnata to our project page now as that is also a part of the blue fleet :)
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