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Portuguese Man o’ War

The Portuguese man o’ war may look like a jellyfish, but it’s not! This unique creature is actually a siphonophore, a colonial organism made up of tiny, specialized individuals that work together as one.

 

Found in warm waters around the world, including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, these spectacular drifters are instantly recognizable by their gas-filled float which rises above the water’s surface.  This translucent blue-purple float allows it to travel long distances, propelled by wind and ocean currents. Below the surface, its long, trailing tentacles can extend up to 30 meters (nearly 100 feet), which can deliver a toxin that can paralyze and kill prey such as fish, shrimp, and other small animals. Tentacles retain their ability to sting even after death, and humans are sometimes stung by Portuguese man o’ war that have washed up on shore. But this sting doesn’t deter everybody — some species, like the blue glaucus, are immune to its sting and even feed on tentacles to steal the toxins for their own defense! 

While it may not seem like it, each Portuguese man o’ war is a colony composed of four types of specialized polyps, each with a unique role: floating, feeding, capturing prey, and reproduction. Despite lacking a brain, these polyps work in perfect coordination.  

 

 

The Portuguese man o’ war is thought to be fairly common in the oceans where it is found, and no major threats are known to exist to this species. However, like all ocean animals, they depend on healthy, clean, abundant oceans to survive.

 

 

Protecting and restoring our oceans benefits wildlife around the world. By speaking up and working together, we can create real, measurable change for oceans and marine life. Learn more about Oceana’s campaigns to protect and restore marine biodiversity and abundance here.

 

 

 

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