I’ve seen this video before let me nerd out a little bc these are...

I’ve seen this video before let me nerd out a little bc these are one of the coolest animals ever
These are Porpita porpita, aka blue buttons. They are not one organism, but rather a colony of smaller organisms that all work together. Somewhat related to the Portuguese man o war

Though they’re really nowhere near as dangerous as the Portuguese man o war… at MOST they’ll just give you a mild rash. They’re more closely related to this other colonial organism called the “by-the-wind sailor” (Velella velella).

They’re hydroids, which are somewhat similar to corals, anemones, and jellyfish, but ultimately their own distinct thing. What makes them so cool is that they are made up of colonies of smaller animals called zooids that are all specialized to do specific tasks in the colony

They’re kind of like specialized cells in the organs of non-colonial animals, but rather than building up organs and tissues, they build individual animals that are each specialized to do one specific job in the colony. They can’t live separately and are all genetically identical

Porpita Porpita is made up of 4 different types of zooids:

Dactylzooids: those are the funny little bright blue tentacle things you see. They’re for defending the colony, capturing food, and are equipped with nematocysts (stinging cells)

Gastrozooids: these are for feeding the colony. In the blue button, I believe there’s only one of them, which manifests as a mouth on the underside of the animal. Their gastrozooid is the only zooid that “eats”, and then the nutrients are distributed to the rest of the colony

Gonozooids: these are for reproduction. Blue buttons release these tiny jellyfish-looking things called “medusas” into the water which then get fertilized and form into new Porpita colonies. And yes, blue buttons are hermaphrodites and can sometimes end up self-fertilizing lol

The circular part in the center is called a “Pneumatophore” which is the 4th type of zooid in the colony. This is a gas-filled float that holds the colony together and lets it drift across the surface of the water. It’s made mainly of chitin, same stuff as arthropod exoskeletons

There is no good conclusion I can make here I just think they’re cool and want to talk about them lol