Two By-the-Wind Sailor jellyfish photographed by Tiffany Hertzon.
These Velella jellyfish, also known as By-the-Wind Sailors are a real treat to find. These photos were submitted by Tiffany Hertzon and were taken in Highland Beach, Florida ( near Boca Raton ). Here is what Tiffany had to say about her find:
Info: Found about 1pm April 14, 2013. High tide. Highland beach, FL. I picked them up by the fin and touched underneath. No sting at all but I don’t know if they were dead or alive. I would say alive or very freshly dead as they weren’t dried out or stiff. The fin didn’t detach when I rinsed the sand off in the waves. I saw about 5 and photographed the first two.
See more of Tiffany’s photography at Facebook.com/tiffanyphotos
The clear “sails”on this jellyfish are stiff to catch the wind. It is said that some of the sails are “right-handed” and others “left-handed” causing them to go in opposite directions in the same wind. Because of this, all of the stranded jellies in one location tend to be either all of one type or the other.
