Reef Life
Glaucus Atlanticus, Blue Dragon
A sea slug built like a tiny dragon, rendered fin by fin.
What caught our eyeFloats upside-down at the ocean surface eating venomous Portuguese man o' war, then stores their stinging cells for its own defence, ending up more venomous than its prey.
- Available as posters, apparel and accessories, pick your format on the store
- AI-assisted illustration, directed and curated by us
- Printed only when you order it: no stock, no unsold inventory
- Produced and shipped by our marketplace partners
Field notes
Glaucus atlanticus, commonly called the blue dragon, is a small sea slug, and it does not look like one. The body splits into slender finger-like appendages arranged in fans on either side, silver-grey on one face and blue on the other, so the whole animal reads as something closer to a heraldic figure than a mollusc.
That branching is the entire subject. Our illustration treats it the way a botanical plate treats a leaf structure, following each appendage out to its tip rather than massing them into a shape, because the moment they blur together the animal stops being recognisable.
It is one of the designs that made us realise the collection had to be drawn at plate scale. Part of the Reef Life collection, available on posters, prints, t-shirts and accessories, made on demand.
