What is this Weird Water Animal?

Question

I was swimming at a beach in Australia, Gold Coast and found this creature swimming with me! Can someone tell me what animal this is?

http://img501.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cimg0923smallgm9.jpg

As you can see by the grains of sand the animal is small, about the size of a eraser (~5cm)

Answer 1

Glaucus atlanticus

http://www.nudibranch.com.au/pages/7584b...

http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cf...

Answer 2

Sorry...the image URL is not visible for me...

Answer 3

haha, nice drawing!

Answer 4

I not a real animal man its ugly.

Answer 5

Just a gastropod mollusc related to the snail and commonly called a blue sea slug. They float upside down on the sea surface.

Answer 6

Glaucus

It eats blue bottles. (I think Americans called the Portuguese man o wars.)

This little sea slug is has feet that are oil coated so it repels water. It uses these to stick to the surface of the ocean and when it meets a blue bottle it eats it. It seems to be immune to the bluebottle stings. It actually collect the stings in its skin and uses them to repel predators.

Answer 7

It's a glaucus or blue slug. They look like a bit of bluebottle floating in the water.

Answer 8

Wow, what a beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeutiful, beeeeeeeeeeeeeutiful creature.  I sure wish I had seen one when I was swimming there.

I don't know exactly what it is, but it just might be a Neudebranch of some kind.  They are Molluscs, related to snails and slugs, and are completely harmless.  

If it was swimming "freely", and not just being washed along by the current, then it's not a Neudebranch, because they cling to, and crawl along, plants and coral, etc.

Maybe you've discovered a new species.

If you took that photograph and it's real, you could easily sell it.

If you ever find out what it is, please let me know.

Well, thanks to HeatherH, we all now know it IS a Neudebranch.  And, since it feeds on jellyfish type animals and stores up their stingers for it's own use, then, yes, it can sting.  So, the best thing to do when you see one is to watch and enjoy, but do not touch.

You people in Australia sure are lucky to have such wonderful animals in your oceans.