Natalie Wetherington captured this beautiful close up of a By-the-Wind Sailor jellyfish on Cocoa Beach. Click the image to enlarge.
I’ve gotten quite a few photos of jellyfish over the last few years. This year I’ve received quite a few photos of By-the-Wind Sailors (Velella velella). But this photo by Natalie Wetherington of Brandon, FL is by far the very best close up I’ve seen so far. These are very small jellyfish, ranging from an inch to perhaps 2 inches in diameter. They are generally considered harmless and often wash up by the thousands onto the beach.
Crab’s eye level view of several Velella stranding on Cocoa Beach, FL
If you want to know more, you can read all the biological details of Velella at the Univ. of Michigan’s Animal Diversity web site.
Thanks, Natalie, for sharing your photos!
By-the-Wind-Sailors are found in many parts of the world. Below are two photos of Velella from Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. Photos by Phil Jones:
Velella found on a beach in Ireland by Phil Jones.
By-the-Wind-Sailor viewed from underneath.
