Blue dragons, or Glaucus atlanticus, a vivid blue and silver sea slug. /CFP

Spring breakers going to Texas beaches this month may witness something they've never seen before: the blue dragon, or Glaucus atlanticus, a vivid blue and silver sea slug.

While the small, 1-inch animal appears to be playful, researchers warn that touching them can result in a painful sting.

Blue dragons prey on toxins released by the Portuguese man o' war and other jellyfish-like species. As southeastern winds strengthen in spring, slugs move ashore, potentially releasing harmful chemicals on unsuspecting beachgoers.

"Warning: Do not touch the blue dragon!" Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi marine biologist and Harte's director of community engagement Jace Tunnell wrote in a Facebook post.

Jace Tunnell told BBC that the blue dragon is a pelagic nudibranch that sails on the surface of the ocean. They are typically just an inch long and feed on the toxins of much larger species such as Portuguese man o' war, which have tentacles around 30 feet (over 9 meters).

Tunnell says they eat Portuguese man o' war tentacles and remove their stinging cells. Then, they store them in their feather appendages for later use, to release when they're agitated.

Blue dragons are indeed gorgeous to look at, but experts advise that what visitors should do is to look and not touch, and photograph from a safe distance.