part spaceship, part sundial

#texturetuesday #bythewindsailor

Today's beach visit featured the annual by-the-wind-sailor. We're used to seeing their blanched remains but when first washed up they're a brilliant iridescent purple.

#beach #biology #bythewindsailor

A shipwrecked By-the-Wind Sailor (Velella velella). Cast up by high tide and winds, left to dry out on the burren limestone.
County Clare, Ireland.

Cormacscoast.com walking tours

#wildatlanticway #walkingtours #discoverireland #keepdiscovering #marinelife #biodiversity #bythewindsailor #Ireland

A freshly washed in By-the-Wind Sailor (Velella velella), its coloured tentacles still vibrant. These open ocean drifters occasionally was ashore in large numbers.
County Clare, Ireland.

Cormacscoast.com walking tours

#wildatlanticway #walkingtours #discoverireland #keepdiscovering #marinelife #biodiversity #bythewindsailor #Ireland

By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) Surface dwellers on the open ocean, this individual has been pushed up onto our shores by recent Southerly winds.
County Clare, Ireland.

Cormacscoast.com walking tours

#wildatlanticway #walkingtours #discoverireland #keepdiscovering #marinelife #biodiversity #bythewindsailor #Ireland

A Violet Snail (Janthina sp.) preying on a By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella)

#VioletSnail #Janthina #ByTheWindSailor #VelellaVelella #Hydrozoa #ArtWithOpenSource #Darktable #CCBYSA #Cnidaria #ByTheWindSailors #SeaLife #MarineLife #Snail #Snails #Gastropod #Gastropods #Gastropoda #Mollusca #Mollusc #Molluscs #Animal #Animals #AnimalPhotography #Wildlife #WildlifePhotography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Photography

By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella)

#ByTheWindSailor #VelellaVelella #Hydrozoa #ArtWithOpenSource #Darktable #CCBYSA #Cnidaria #ByTheWindSailors #SeaLife #MarineLife #Animal #Animals #AnimalPhotography #Wildlife #WildlifePhotography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Photography

A By-the-Wind Sailor (Velella velella) washed up on the shore with a sprinkling of Sargassum seaweed "berries".
County Clare, Ireland.

Cormacscoast.com walking tours

#wildatlanticway #walkingtours #discoverireland #keepdiscovering #marinelife #biodiversity #bythewindsailor #Sargassum #Ireland