Sea Cherubs, Sea Butterflies, 'Fire Bodies:' Fantastic Beasts of Oregon Coast Right Now

Published 01/14/25 at 7:15 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Bring on a bunch of storms, maybe even killer tides, then add a stretch of sunny weather that opens the floodgates to people and what do you have? A recipe for really cool finds along the north Oregon coast. (Pyrosomes and globs of sea foam at Arcadia Beach - all photos Tiffany Boothe Seaside Aquarium)

More stuff, more people, more eyes and thus more documentation. It's been that kind of beach nerd paradise the last two days, and Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe has been spotting some of the motherlodes oceanic finds at Arcadia Beach, just south of Cannon Beach. A variety of striking creatures have been tossed up, many looking like something out of sci-fi and yes, maybe even Harry Potter.

First up: really big pyrosomes have appeared. They're larger than normal – which just means they're mature, fully grown.

“Most range between 12 and 24 inches,” Boothe said. “These creatures are actually colonies of multi-celled animals called zooids. Colony sizes vary with species, some reaching up to 30 feet long. Typically found in tropical waters, certain conditions can bring them as far north as the Gulf of Alaska. The species commonly seen on our coast is Pyrosoma atlanticum, maxing out at about 2 feet.”

Ling Cod eggs were also found on the beach. Boothe said they brought them back to the aquarium in the hopes of hatching them.

Sometimes known as sea pickles, their scientific name of pyrosome roughly translates to “fire body,” which is appropriate because they’re known to exhibit bioluminescence. Yes, they're like glowing sand you sometimes see out on the Oregon coast. However, that only happens when they're still alive

Pyrosomes are filter feeders, and use cilia to draw plankton into their mucus filters for consumption. Appearances of Pyrosomes on Oregon Coast Still a Big Puzzle to Scientists

Sea cherub / sea angel

“While their role in the food web isn't well understood, fish, dolphins, and whales have been seen eating them. They are considered harmless, but it's wise to keep pets from eating them,” Boothe said.

Also found:

Sea Butterflies: The favorite meal of Sea cherubs are sea butterflies. So, Boothe said, it is not a surprise that both species would be found on the beach at the same time.

Sea butterflies are pelagic sea snails which use large wings to propel themselves through the water. They feed by setting out a mucus net up to 2 meters long and consuming whatever has the unfortunate fate of getting caught.

Sea Cherubs – or Sea Angels: Sea cherubs are free-swimming sea slugs. They are considered voracious predators, feeding on organisms up to three times their own size. More Ethereal in the Deep: Sea Angels / Sea Cherubs of Oregon Coast / Washington Coast

“Sea Angels are planktonic sea slugs which belong to the order Gymnosomata,” Boothe said. “They have a pair of wing-like paddles which are used for swimming.”

Some breeds of sea angel feeds almost exclusively on sea butterflies, which are also a form of sea slug. An interesting if not freaky sidenote about sea slugs: according to experts like the Monterey Aquarium in California, they and their favorite prey, sea butterflies, are both pteropods. They're literally relatives of the garden snails and slugs in our yards. But evolution has taken that foot of the land slug and turned it into those graceful, even ethereal flapping “wings” in the water. See sea angels / sea cherubs in the water

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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