The Velella Velella returns

The living miniature sailing boat Velella Velella kept its appointment with Maltese beaches this year, as evidenced by the reports of massive beaching of this species at Golden Bay. The Spot the Jellyfish team said Sharklab volunteers reported the species, in sizes from 1.5cm to over 6cm, beached at Golden Bay. Alan Deidun, who heads the Spot the Jellyfish team, said the Velella Velella normally appeared in Malta in spring, mostly between April and June. Its early appearance this year could be due to a prolonged period of strong north-west onshore winds this year, since this was a surface, wind-propelled species. This species, often mistaken as a single jellyfish individual, is a floating colony, propelled by means of a 6cm-wide triangular flap, made of chitin, which acts as a veritable sail, beneath which are thousands of separate 3mm-individuals surrounding a large central mouth. The float contains a number of sealed air-filled compartments which ensure its buoyancy. Dangling below the float are short tentacles which ensnare unwary plantkonic individuals but which do not impart a sting to humans. Velella is a cosmopolitan species, being known from warm, temperate seas all over...