Little sail
Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedjellyfish and corals
The little sail (Velella velella) is an animal in the jellyfish and corals subgroup of other invertebrates, placed in the family Porpitidae. It belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, class Hydrozoa, order Anthoathecata and suborder Capitata, within the genus Velella.
Quick facts about the little sail
Other English names for it are Purple sail, By-the-wind-sailor, By-the-wind sailor and Jack sail-by-the-wind. Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 7 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the little sail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the little sail live?
Not recorded
What is the little sail?
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. They catch their prey, generally plankton, by means of tentacles that hang down in the water and bear stinging nematocysts (also called cnidocysts). The toxins in their nematocysts are effective against their prey. While cnidarians all possess nematocysts, in some species the nematocysts and toxins therein are more powerful than other species. The nematocysts of V. velella are relatively benign to humans, although each person may respond differently to contact with the nematocyst toxin; irritation may occur to skin exposed to V. velella nematocysts.
From the Wikipedia article “Velella” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Velella&oldid=1378578480), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the little sail endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the little sail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumCnidaria
- classHydrozoa
- orderAnthoathecata
- familyPorpitidae
- genusVelella
- SpeciesVelella velella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Armenista sigmoides, Holothuria spirans, Medusa pocillum, Medusa velella, Rataria cordata, Rataria mitrata, Velella antarctica, Velella aurora, Velella australis, Velella caurina, Velella cyanea, Velella emarginata, Velella indica, Velella lata, Velella limbosa, Velella meridionalis, Velella mutica, Velella oblonga, Velella oxyothone, Velella oxyothone var. brachyothone, Velella oxyothone var. oxyothone, Velella pacifica, Velella patellaris, Velella pyramidalis, Velella radackiana, Velella sandwichiana, Velella scaphidia, Velella septentrionalis, Velella sinistra, Velella spirans, Velella tentaculata, Velella tropica, Velella vella
Other names and names in other languages (31)
- By-the-wind sailorEnglish
- By-the-wind-sailorEnglish
- Jack sail-by-the-windEnglish
- Purple sailEnglish
- VelellaAfrikaans
- veleruAsturian
- BalandríCatalan
- barqueta de Sant PereCatalan
- ruzunuCorsican
- paruska komůrkatáCzech
- BidevindssejlerDanish
- BidevindsejlerDanish
- SegelqualleGerman
- veleroSpanish
- Medusa veleroSpanish
- Veleta AzulSpanish
- purjehtijamaneettiFinnish
- vélelleFrench
- barque de Saint PierreFrench
- barchetta di San PietroItalian
- カツオノカンムリJapanese
- bezaantjeDutch
- bidevindseglarNorwegian Nynorsk
- bidevindseilerNorwegian
- żeglarz wiatrowyPolish
- VelelaPortuguese
- VeleiroPortuguese
- ПарусницаRussian
- bidevindseglareSwedish
- Velella (Yelken Hidroid)Turkish
- Sứa buồmVietnamese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the little sail
Other species in the same family Porpitidae.
CompareLittle sail vs Blue buttonLittle sail vs Porpita linnaenaLittle sail vs Porpita prunella
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little sail?
The little sail is an invertebrate in the jellyfish and corals subgroup. It belongs to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa.
What is the scientific name of the little sail?
The scientific name of the little sail is Velella velella, in the genus Velella.
Who named Velella velella and when?
Linnaeus named it in 1758; the authority is written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
What other names does the little sail have?
The little sail is also called Purple sail, By-the-wind-sailor, By-the-wind sailor and Jack sail-by-the-wind.
What family does the little sail belong to?
The little sail belongs to the family Porpitidae, in the order Anthoathecata and suborder Capitata.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little sail (Velella velella). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-sail
“Little sail (Velella velella).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-sail.
@misc{little_sail_2026,
title = {Little sail (Velella velella)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-sail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}