Velella
monospecific genus of cnidarians
Velella is a genus of hydrozoa (a group of small, predatory marine cnidarians) in the family Porpitidae. Its only known species is Velella velella, a widely-distributed free-floating colonial animal that lives on the surface of the open ocean. It is commonly known by the names sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail, little sail, or simply Velella.
It is a member of a specialised ocean surface community that includes the better-known Portuguese man o' war. Specialized predatory molluscs prey on these cnidarians. Such predators include nudibranchs (sea slugs) in the genus Glaucus and purple snails in the genus Janthina.
Each apparent individual is a hydroid colony, and most are less than about 7 cm (2.8 in) long. They are usually deep blue in colour, with a small stiff sail that catches the wind and propels them over the surface of the sea. Under certain wind conditions, they may be stranded by the thousands on beaches.
Like other cnidarians, V. velella are carnivorous.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Velella” as monospecific genus of cnidarians. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as monospecific genus of cnidarians. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4009331. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Velella” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.