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Cnidario

Porpita porpita

Photo by Tavo
Published on Project Noah
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21.5119, -105.27

Field Notes

Description:

Porpita porpita, commonly known as the blue button, is a marine organism consisting of a colony of hydroids found in tropical waters from California to the tropical Pacific, the Atlantic and Indian oceans It is often mistaken for a jellyfish, but although jellyfish and the blue buttons are part of the same phylum (Cnidaria), the blue button is part of the class Hydrozoa.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (36)

THANKS A LOT!!! I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS :D
Awesome picture, Occasionally I see these on the beaches of South Padre Island, TX!
Beautiful photo and information, AND it's scientific name makes me smile because it's a duplicate: Porpita porpita!
I've always wanted to see one of those! Awesome find!
Congratulations Tavo! What an incredible creature & fantastic find.
Congratulations Tavo and thanks for showing me something entirely new. What an amazing creature.
amazing! congrats for SOTD
Awesome spotting! Congratulations!
Congratulations for the SOTD, Tavo, it is a wonderful spotting.
WOW! So unusual! I never knew this organism existed. Terrific spot and congratulations on SOTD.
Congratulations Tavo! This beautiful species has been selected as Spotting of the Day! Thanks for the contributions and we hope to see many more from you! "The blue button lives on the surface of the sea and consists of two main parts: the float and the hydroid colony. The hard golden-brown float is round, almost flat, and about one inch wide. The hydroid colony, which can range from bright blue turquoise to yellow, resembles tentacles like those of the jellyfish." Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/posts/424029484331440 Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/250382124308369408
Amazing, beautiful, colorful spotting. Spectacular. Really cool.
Could we have some explanation of what we are looking at?
Photographed
PublishedDecember 31, 2011

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