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Portuguese Man O' War Saw this Portuguese Man O' War Jellyfish washed up on a beach. French Polynesia,Jellyfish,Physalia physalis,Portuguese man o' war,Rurutu,Tahiti Click/tap to enlarge PromotedCountry intro

Portuguese Man O' War

Saw this Portuguese Man O' War Jellyfish washed up on a beach.

    comments (4)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
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    What a find! The biology of these species is crazy:

    "Despite its appearance, the Portuguese man o' war is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore, which is not an individual multicellular organism , but a colonial organism made up of many specialized animals of the same species, called zooids or polyps. These polyps are attached to one another and physiologically integrated, to the extent that they cannot survive independently, creating a symbiotic relationship, requiring each polyp to work together and function like an individual animal."     Posted 5 years ago
    1. View Albert Kang's profile
      Albert Kang
      Lion
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      Thanks Ferdy, indeed this is a very interesting Organism! Posted 5 years ago
  3. View Ruth Spigelman's profile
    Ruth Spigelman
    Lion
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    Occasionally our beaches here on the east coast of Australia will be strewn with hundreds of these, dependent on tide and weather conditions. Albert, this brought a smile to my face as I remembered my Australian husband's words of warning to this British girl when we moved here from the UK..'watch out for the bluebottles and don't touch, the sting is incredibly painful'. A bluebottle is a harmless housefly in the UK. I thought, 'how big and nasty do these flies come, here in Australia?!'. I enjoyed seeing this super, clear image - a beauty with hidden dangers for sure. Posted 5 years ago
    1. View Albert Kang's profile
      Albert Kang
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      Thanks Ruth :)
      Interesting story on the perspective! lol       Posted 5 years ago

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The Portuguese Man O' War

The Portuguese man o' war, also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is one of two species in the genus "Physalia", along with the Pacific man o' war, "Physalia utriculus". Its long tentacles deliver a painful sting, which is venomous and powerful enough to kill fish and even humans.

Info 4 0
Similar species: Siphonophorae
Species identified by Albert Kang
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By Albert Kang

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Uploaded Feb 28, 2020. Captured Oct 3, 2019 11:20.
country flag of French Polynesia Explore French Polynesia 133 115 0
  • TG-5
  • f/3.4
  • 1/60s
  • ISO200
  • 9.61mm