"The closures were due to the fact that, although the slug measures no more than four centimeters, it can sting and cause skin irritation or burning. These are mild and exceptional injuries; they are not comparable to those from a Portuguese man-of-war, which the blue dragon feeds on and which carries a far greater number of stinging cells in its long tentacles, explains Juan Lucas Cervera, professor of Biology at the University of Cadiz and an expert in sea slugs."
"When the two blue dragons appeared in Guardamar del Segura, it was half an hour before the lifeguards' shift ended and we didn't know if there were more specimens stranded or close to the coast, so we activated the protocol and raised the red flag, explains Jose Luis Saez, the town's mayor. A monitoring operation was deployed, but no further specimens were detected."
"Even so, they remain alert, as they do with jellyfish usually the so-called fried-egg jellyfish, which are fairly harmless in the area, and with the feared Portuguese man-of-war, which has appeared on occasion. There could always be a user who experiences a severe reaction, the mayor adds, while at the same time sending a message of reassurance, describing it as a very isolated episode that has ended up as just a holiday anecdote."
A swimmer spotted two blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus) specimens on Vivers beach in Guardamar del Segura, prompting a temporary bathing closure and deployment of monitoring. Similar closures occurred at Santa Barbara beach in La Línea de la Concepción and at La Garita and Famara beaches in Lanzarote. The slug measures up to four centimeters and can sting, causing skin irritation or burning, though injuries are generally mild and far less severe than those from the Portuguese man-of-war, its prey. Authorities advise against touching the slugs, request sighting reports, and maintain vigilance; lifeguards activated protocols and raised red flags when specimens were present.
Read at english.elpais.com
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