A popular tourist beach in the Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura was forced to briefly close after the discovery of multiple venomous sea slugs in the water, local authorities announced.
After the discovery of the blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus), and for motives of citizen safety, we have banned all swimming on all of the municipal beaches until a new order,” the Guardamar police force said in a post on Facebook.
About the blue dragon
Venomous slug measures only 3 centimeters in length and feeds on venomous animals like the Portuguese man o’ war, later absorbing its venom.
The venom enables the small slug to paralyze prey that is 300 times its size. For humans with allergies or pre-existing conditions, the slug's sting can be deadly.
“Contact with this marine animal can be dangerous and provoke painful burns on the skin,” police said, while stressing beachgoers should “take extreme caution and avoid direct contact with those that could appear on the sand.”
The town’s mayor, José Luis Sáez, shared on Facebook that those visiting the beach should exercise extreme caution as the blue dragons may be on the shoreline, not just in the water.