The blue dragon exists and is spectacular

The images of a small marine animal that surfaced off the coast of Queensland, Australia, were successful on the Internet. The creature, which looks more like a Pokémon than a species on this planet, is nothing more than a sea slug known as the Glaucus atlanticus or blue dragon.

The stripes, visible on the surface of the animal's skin, are not just there to adorn it: they serve as camouflage, helping it disappear on the shiny surface of the water, fleeing from aerial predators. In addition, while the blue dragon floats on the surface of the ocean, its vivid blue underside protects it from underwater animals.

Even small - measuring 4 to 6 cm on average - these animals feed on much larger prey, such as the poisonous Portuguese caravel, a relative of the jellyfish. Because it is immune to poison, the blue dragon manages to collect the toxic substance into an even more potent weapon, unlike us humans, who, in contact with the caravel, may have burns of up to third degree.

Its habitat is temperate and tropical waters, including the east and south coast of South Africa and some European regions.