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The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war [6] or bluebottle, [7] is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or bluebottle , which is found mainly in the Pacific Ocean . [ 8 ]
Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis) Organisms in the order of Siphonophorae have been classified into the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa. [3] The phylogenetic relationships of siphonophores have been of great interest due to the high variability of the organization of their polyp colonies and medusae.
This small cnidarian is part of a specialised ocean surface community that includes the better-known cnidarian siphonophore, the Portuguese man o' war. Specialized predatory gastropod molluscs prey on these cnidarians. Such predators include nudibranchs (sea slugs) in the genus Glaucus [4] and purple snails in the genus Janthina. [5]
The family Physaliidae is monotypic, consisting of only one genus, Physalia. [2] The genus is also monotypic, containing only P. physalis. [1] [3] There is a long history of the genus being described with multiple species, such as the Pacific man o' war (P. utriculus), however most of these species are now considered synonyms for P. physalis.
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The word is a Guaraní word meaning "pig-skin" that originated during the War of the Triple Alliance between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, in which Argentine soldiers wore pig-skin coats. The term has lost much of its derogatory connotation and is now used fairly regularly in place of the word "Argentine."
G. atlanticus can swallow the venomous nematocysts from siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man o' war, and store them in the extremities of its finger-like cerata. [24] Picking up the animal can result in a painful sting, with symptoms similar to those caused by the Portuguese man o' war. [26]
HARVEY CEDARS, N.J. — Watch where you step, beachgoers. A Portuguese Man o' War washed up on the Jersey Shore on the first day of summer, prompting lifeguards to sound the alarm that potentially ...