Porpita porpita - Blue Button
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It looks alot like aliens have landed. This is a colony of many organisms drifting in our oceans.
It was a rough trip out to Green Island National Park. It is situated on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area off the coast of Cairns.
The wind blew and waves crashed onto the windows of the boat. It became alot calmer when we reached the Island being protected by the coral reef.
I was photographing Reef Egrets catching small fish on the shore when I noticed that a Porpita porpita or Blue Button had been washed into a small pool on the rocks.
This was the second occasion in my life that I had a opportunity to photograph these wonderful colonies of animals. Last time Glaucus atlanticus and Glaucilla marginata had also been washed ashore by a storm with Porpita porpita.
"Porpita porpita, which is commonly known as blue button, is a colony of hydroids, commonly mistaken to be a type of jellyfish, that is found in topical waters, from California to the tropical pacific.
Porpita porpita is well known for its bright blue or turquoise color. In reality, this is not just one organism but a colony of hydroids.[1] Blue button is commonly mistaken to be a type of jellyfish; both jellyfish and the blue button are part of the same phylum (Cnidaria) but the blue button is part of the genera Hydroza.[2]
Blue button consists of two main parts: the float and the hydroid colony. The hard golden-brown float is round, almost flat, and is about one inch wide. The hydroid colony, which can range from turquoise to yellow, resembles tentacles like those of the jellyfish.[3] Each strand has numerous branchlets, each of which ends in knobs of stinging cells.[2] In reality, the blue button does not sting but may cause irritation if it comes in contact with human skin.[1]
The blue button lives in the surface of the sea and can be found in a wide range of topical waters, from California to the tropical pacific.[4] The blue button plays a role in the food web, as its size makes it an easy prey to several organisms. The blue button itself is a passive drifter, meaning that it feeds on both living and dead organisms that come in contact with it. It competes with other drifters for food and mainly feeds off of small fish, eggs, and zooplankton. The blue button has a single mouth located beneath the float with is used for both the intake of nutrients as well as the expulsion of waste.[2]"
Porpita porpita - Blue Button
Images may be purchased at:
www.redbubble.com/people/paulhypnos
It looks alot like aliens have landed. This is a colony of many organisms drifting in our oceans.
It was a rough trip out to Green Island National Park. It is situated on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area off the coast of Cairns.
The wind blew and waves crashed onto the windows of the boat. It became alot calmer when we reached the Island being protected by the coral reef.
I was photographing Reef Egrets catching small fish on the shore when I noticed that a Porpita porpita or Blue Button had been washed into a small pool on the rocks.
This was the second occasion in my life that I had a opportunity to photograph these wonderful colonies of animals. Last time Glaucus atlanticus and Glaucilla marginata had also been washed ashore by a storm with Porpita porpita.
"Porpita porpita, which is commonly known as blue button, is a colony of hydroids, commonly mistaken to be a type of jellyfish, that is found in topical waters, from California to the tropical pacific.
Porpita porpita is well known for its bright blue or turquoise color. In reality, this is not just one organism but a colony of hydroids.[1] Blue button is commonly mistaken to be a type of jellyfish; both jellyfish and the blue button are part of the same phylum (Cnidaria) but the blue button is part of the genera Hydroza.[2]
Blue button consists of two main parts: the float and the hydroid colony. The hard golden-brown float is round, almost flat, and is about one inch wide. The hydroid colony, which can range from turquoise to yellow, resembles tentacles like those of the jellyfish.[3] Each strand has numerous branchlets, each of which ends in knobs of stinging cells.[2] In reality, the blue button does not sting but may cause irritation if it comes in contact with human skin.[1]
The blue button lives in the surface of the sea and can be found in a wide range of topical waters, from California to the tropical pacific.[4] The blue button plays a role in the food web, as its size makes it an easy prey to several organisms. The blue button itself is a passive drifter, meaning that it feeds on both living and dead organisms that come in contact with it. It competes with other drifters for food and mainly feeds off of small fish, eggs, and zooplankton. The blue button has a single mouth located beneath the float with is used for both the intake of nutrients as well as the expulsion of waste.[2]"