Beaches within the city of Guardamar del Segura, in southeastern Spain, closed earlier this week after the invention of two venomous sea slugs within the water, native authorities introduced.
Due to the looks “of the blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus), and for motives of citizenry safety, we have banned all swimming on all of the municipal beaches until a new order,” the Guardamar police drive mentioned in a post on Facebook on Wednesday.
The blue dragon, colloquially named for its resemblance to the legendary creatures, is simply about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) lengthy, however it feeds on venomous animals just like the Portuguese man o’ conflict earlier than recycling and concentrating that venom, permitting it to paralyze prey 300 instances its measurement.
“Contact with this marine animal can be dangerous and provoke painful burns on the skin,” police mentioned, including that beachgoers ought to “take extreme caution and avoid direct contact with those that could appear on the sand.”
By Thursday, the ban had been lifted and swimming was allowed, however authorities nonetheless urged warning.
The city’s mayor, José Luis Sáez, told the public to inform the authorities in the event that they noticed one of many creatures and to keep away from touching it, even when sporting gloves. He suggested anybody getting stung to rinse the affected space with saltwater and search medical consideration.
With its sunny local weather, rocky cliffs and plethora of beaches, the Mediterranean shoreline surrounding Alicante is considered one of Spain’s vacationer hotspots.
Blue dragons are hardly ever seen within the Mediterranean, being extra usually found within the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans the place they’re carried alongside by ocean currents and the wind.