We had a fan send us an interesting photo on Monday asking us, what are these orange things?
His family had been walking on the Wildwood beach just after sunrise and stumbled upon this inch-long half orange half clear looking jellyfish. He couldn’t tell if they were poisonous so he didn’t touch them. Below is the photo he sent us.
Clione Limacina Found On The Wildwood Beaches
For those who don’t know, these are Clione limacina, or most commonly known as a naked sea butterflies or sea angels. The reason they call them sea angels is because the shape of their fins look like angels’ wings.
Clione limacina are found from the surface to greater than 500 m depth. It lives in the Arctic Ocean and cold regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. The My guess is that these past storms had pulled the Clione limacina from the colder waters down into our area.
If you do see one on the beach you shouldn’t worry. These little guys do not sting or hurt us.
Below is a really cool video showing you what Clione limacina look like while swimming.
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