Beaches In The US Are Being Invaded By Tiny Flesh-Eating Creatures
By Tom Hale
28 Jun 2018, 14:17
Take care if you're heading down to the Florida beaches this summer, there's something unpleasant lurking in their waters. No, not Jaws. Or crocodiles.
The Florida Department of Health has recently warned beachgoers about an “eruption†of stinging microscopic "sea liceâ€. The worst-affected beaches are in Pensacola, although it is possible the infestation could hit many beaches along 400 kilometers (250 miles) of Florida's southern coastal area. The Department of Health said lifeguards will stick up purple flags in order to alert swimmers about the presence of sea lice.
Sea lice is just a slang name given to these irritating critters. In South Florida’s case, they are actually the larval form of the thimble jellyfish (Linuche unqui culata). Although barely even visible to the naked away, the larvae are able to shoot out nematocysts, the specialized cell in the tentacles of a jellyfish that contains a barbed venomous hook.
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/beachgoers-in-the-us-are-being-attacked-by-tiny-stinging-creatures/
