'Stunningly beautiful' blue sea creatures appear on Welsh beaches

'Stunningly beautiful' blue sea creatures appear on Welsh beaches14 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEleri GriffithsBBC WalesMaxine AllinsonMaxine Allinson spotted a by-the-wind sailor on Tenby South beach Tuesday Hundreds of "stunningly beautiful" blue sea creatures have washed up along parts of the Welsh coastline.Velella velella, commonly known as by-the-wind sailors and closely related to the Portuguese man o' war, have been spotted on beaches across Anglesey, Gwynedd and Tenby.One woman who found one of the free-floating hydrozoans on Tenby South beach said it was "like a crystal".Marine specialist Frankie Hobro, of Anglesey Sea Zoo, said the creatures were beautiful but warned people not to touch them due to their sting.Nature lover Maxine Allinson was walking on her local beach in Tenby on Tuesday when she spotted a by-the-wind sailor for the first time."It was fantastic," said the 49-year-old. "They are so beautiful."Frankie HobroFrankie Hobro discovered one of the creatures on the beach at Trefor on the Llŷn Peninsula on SundayThe nickname - by-the-wind sailors - comes from their small sail-like structure, which catches the wind and moves them across the ocean surface.Hobro said they were often mistaken for Portuguese man o' war but were much smaller, "brighter blue" and "generally harmless"."So you get the kind of blue tides of the by-the-wind sailors and obviously if they catch the sunlight as well it really sparkles," she said."It's stunningly beautiful and the Portuguese man o'war even more so because they have these kind of purples and pinks as well."Hobro said by-the-wind sailors were relatively common, usually appearing in autumn and winter when ocean currents carry them long distances.About 7cm long, they cannot move themselves and are often "dumped" ashore after storms or changes in currents.Large groups strand togeth...