In the last few days, along our coast, we have seen strange transparent creatures with a disturbing red eye floating underwater or just underneath the surface.
We have heard people declaring that this year it will be impossible to swim because the sea is infested with jellyfish! Whoever sees them floating on the surface mistakes them for pieces of plastic, shouting about the environmental scandal! Finally, there are those hypothesizing about impossible unearthly beings!
Stay calm!!! None of this apocalyptic drama concerns these poor little creatures! We’re here to set the record straight, so here’s what they are:
This species is commonly called Pelagic Salps (or Salpa) and is part of the Thaliacea order. They move by contraction, pumping water through their gelatinous bodies – one of the most effective examples of jet propulsion in the animal kingdom – and feed on phytoplankton, which is filtered through the pumped water. They can form long chains of barrel-shaped blastozooids, with growing embryos forming orange spots clearly visible through the transparent chains. These colonies can be up to six meters long.
Its presence indicates, on the one hand, that the waters are clean, since they trap all the substances in their bodies; but, on the other hand, their excessive presence can cause an impoverishment of the seas and an excessive proliferation of algae.
Rest assured, though, the demographic explosions of these animals are sudden, but last only a few days.
These Salps are not dangerous for humans and are not even stinging creatures.
Furthermore, Salps are one of the favorite “meals” of dolphins and sea turtles, so keep your eyes open – you never know who you may encounter at sea this summer!
