There’s so much about nature that still remains a mystery, but every now and again we’re lucky enough to encounter a rare natural phenomenon or animal species.

Another such lucky encounter occurred last week in Queensland, Australia when the blue dragon washed up ashore a beach and was caught on camera.

A little over an inch when fully grown, blue dragons are in fact sea slugs that spend their lives floating upside down in warm ocean currents. They’re gorgeous creatures, but don’t let their beauty fool you — they are venomous and extremely deadly, and can take down other venomous marine animals when necessary. And if you happen to come across one, beware. Humans handling them may receive a very painful and potentially dangerous sting.

However, as it is rare for them to appear in front of humans, their sudden appearance on the Australian beach made for a very pleasant surprise. With this small glimpse into the otherwise veiled world of the blue dragon, we can only hope to personally encounter these mesmerizing mollusks one day.