Blue button (Porpita porpita) photo contributed by Leah Miller. Note the golden colored sargassum seaweed in the foreground.
2010 has been the year of the Blue button. They are washing up in large numbers from Texas beaches through Florida and up the Eastern seaboard to the beaches of North Carolina.
This particularly beautiful photo was shared by Leah Miller. It was taken near San Luis Pass / 8-Mile Beach in Galveston Texas in early August.
Although it is often referred to as a jellyfish, it is actually a chondrophore. It is actually a colony of hydroid organisms living together cooperatively as one organism. This organism is believed to have evolved about 600 million years ago.
The central disk has chambers filled with gas which keeps the whole thing afloat. The “tentacles” have different functions–some for capturing prey, others for reproduction or digestion of food.
Blue buttons generally do not have a reputation for stinging. However, I’ve received several reports this year of people feeling a sting when coming into contact with them.
See a list of my other blog posts about Blue buttons.
