The Portuguese Carabela is part of its journey in open waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean and its drift relies heavily on the wind. Therefore, when the wind and sea currents passing through the North Atlantic from west to east head towards the Gulf of Bizkaia, the Carabelas approach our surroundings, especially for a few years. Once here, they find it difficult to escape and end their journey on our beaches.

In November 2022 they appeared in Galicia and in February 2023, on the coast of Gijón, all very small. They came to the Basque coast in July 2023. The number of kilometers that carabelas can travel depends on the strength and frequency of the wind. However, they are skilled and fast animals that can travel 500 kilometres a month. From the ocean waters of the North Atlantic to the Gulf of Bizkaia, they can travel more than 10,000 kilometres to our shores.

But this journey is different for each carabela. These are dimorphic beings, with two forms of carabelas: the left and the right. Consequently, each grain ends in geographic areas, as wind affects each shape by its angles. According to this dimorphism, some will end up in the Gulf of Bizkaia and others in the Canary Islands.

On the other hand, this spinal animal has another characteristic: It's not jellyfish, not even the only creature! Carabela is a symphony, a colonial hydrozoo. To ensure the survival of this colony, four types of organisms called “polyps” or “zooids” work collectively as if it were an isolated island on the high seas. Each type of zooid has its distinct obligations. On the one hand, a zooid transformed into a “veleta” that allows the colony to be kept on the surface of the water and travel on the high seas for food (“pneumoforo”). But how does the eye-catching balloon that works on the surface as a fluff fill up with gas? These tire forums, thanks to the gas glands developed from the surface cells, fill the veil with carbon monoxide. Thus, they have the ability to erect their crest and generate small contractions, among others, to adapt to currents or keep the body always moist.

On the other hand, there is a zooid (“dactilozoid”) that will hunt prey to feed the colony, equipped with urticating cells, called “nematocysts”, which will be used for hunting and defence. These tentacles are dark blue and curly, with a length of 50 meters. Many fish and organisms that come into contact with these carabella tentacles are immobilized and die. Then, the destruction of these dams and the distribution of food to the whole colony remains in the hands of a transparent digestion zooid (“gastrozoid”). The fourth zooid forming the Portuguese Carabela deals with reproduction (“gonozoid”): in each colony there are approximately 10 gonoforums. They are “dyoicos” organisms, in which male and female colonies are distinguished, but it has not yet been possible to determine whether there is periodicity for sexual reproduction.

For this colony to advance in life, collaboration between the four bodies that are part of it is essential. By distributing the functions, all of them are essential to respond to the needs and difficulties of the community. Nature has shown us once again that we have a lot to learn from it.