Man Of War Jellyfish
Some Facts about the Man of War Jellyfish
The Man of War or Man o' War jellyfish is also known as the Portuguese Man O' War. It is not actually a jellyfish, according to National Geographic. In fact it is not a single organism at all. It's a siphonophora, an animal made up of a group of organisms that work together.
The “Man of War jellyfish” is made up of four polyps. The top polyp, which is actually a bladder filled with gas, gives it its name, because it looks like an ancient warship with sails deployed.
The second organism of the Man of War jellyfish is a collection of tentacles. They are thin and long, and able to extend a maximum of one hundred sixty-five feet below the ocean surface. The average length for most animals is actually closer to thirty feet. Each tentacle is covered with nematocysts, filled with venom, that are used to paralyze and kill their prey. Normally they hunt fish and other small creatures. A Man of War jellyfish sting is not normally deadly for a human, but it may be extremely painful. Even dead Man of Wars on the beach can sting you if you step on or make contact with a tentacle.
If you are stung, pick or brush off any tentacles carefully – use something other than your fingers to accomplish this, like a towel or knife. Rinse immediately with salt or fresh water. It is best not to use vinegar on Man o War jellyfish stings, even though that is recommended in jellyfish stings as a general rule. If you experience severe pain, apply cold or heat, whichever helps ease your pain the most. Watch for symptoms of anaphylactic shock – if these are noted, call 911.
Man of War tentacles have muscles which pull their prey up to another polyp, which contains the organisms that will digest the prey. The fourth part of the organism, another polyp, has the animal's reproductive organisms inside it.
Man of War jellyfish can be found in groups of one thousand or more in the warmer waters of the oceans. They are especially common in the waters off Hawaii. They can't propel themselves through the water, so they normally drift on the ocean currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores, which are the part you can see above the water. If they perceive threats on the surface, they can deflate bags of air on their polyps and submerge for brief periods of time.
The Portuguese Man o War jellyfish will eat anything that it stings with its tentacle polyps. As the organisms float with the ocean currents, their tentacles are always hunting for food, as they wave through the water. Their primary prey is surface plankton, algae, small fish and crustaceans.