Portuguese warship. What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish: treatment and prevention

A special and very unique group of the Hydroid class is formed by the subclass Siphonophora. This word refers to free-swimming colonial coelenterates that live in warm seas.
A siphonophore colony is neither a polyp nor a jellyfish. This is a community of many individuals, some of which resemble polyps, others - jellyfish. Each individual of the colony has its own purpose and a corresponding structure. All individuals are located on a single trunk of the colony and are connected to each other by a single digestive cavity.
The most famous among siphonophores is, undoubtedly, siphonophora Portuguese man of war.
Sometimes she is called Latin name physalia (Physalia). The size of the floating colony of physalia is very large. The length of the trunk sometimes exceeds 1 m, and the longest tentacles grow to a length of 10 meters or more.
Main feature physalia is that the floating colony is not completely submerged in water. A brightly colored gas bubble always rises above the water, keeping the entire organism afloat. Painted in bluish or reddish tones, this gas bubble (in Greek “pneumatophore”) also plays the role of a sail, dragging the siphonophore along with the sea winds. The gas in the bubble is close in composition to air and is released by special glandular cells.
The “sail” of a Portuguese boat does its job no worse than a real sail. On the surface of the pneumatophore there is a special ridge, its shape resembling Latin letter S. Thanks to this ridge, the Portuguese man-of-war is not just driven by the wind across the sea, but constantly turns at an angle to the wind. In practice, this leads to the fact that, after swimming for some time in one direction, the siphonophores suddenly make a coordinated turn and swim in a different, sometimes even in the opposite direction.
Such coordinated maneuvers, simultaneously performed by a large number of siphonophores, resemble the friendly navigation of a flotilla of ships. This is where the name “ship” came from. As for the adjective “Portuguese”, the siphonophores owe their bright coloring to the pneumatophores. It was these bright colorful sails that were on the masts of the ships of the medieval mistress of the seas - Portugal.
Observations of physalia showed that in the same group of this species there are two forms that differ in the shape of the crest. Driven by the wind, some of the physalia gradually turn to the right, and others to the left. They are called that way - right and left physalia.
Each colony of siphonophores is a single and very complex organism. Below the pneumatophore on the trunk of the colony in in a certain order the remaining individuals are located.
The first to follow are the so-called swimming bells. These are jellyfish individuals that, by pushing water out of the bells, actively move the colony. True, the Portuguese boat does not have swimming bells, and they are not needed, since the colonies move perfectly with the help of wind or sea currents.
Below the medusoids, all siphonophores have nursing polyps. These individuals are able to swallow and digest food. Since the entire colony is united by a common digestive cavity, all the food that the feeding polyps swallow is immediately distributed among all individuals.
Loops are placed next to the nursing polyps. This is the name given to individuals of siphonophores that look like a long (sometimes up to 20 m), often even branched tentacles carrying stinging cells. The lassoes are designed to protect the colony, as well as to catch prey. Finally, there are individuals in which siphonophore germ cells develop.
Although the venom of physalia stinging cells is dangerous for many species of fish, some of them use the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war for their own protection. The railfish, common in all oceans, spends almost all its time near the physalia or between their tentacles until it reaches adulthood. Somehow these small fish manage to avoid the action of stinging cells, and they react weakly to the poison of physalia.
Although Portuguese ships are very beautiful, it is not recommended to pick them up. The burn from stinging cells is very sensitive for humans. There are several known cases where physalia caused the death of people. Even individuals washed ashore continue to be dangerous. Those who have been attacked by physalia have described the effect of the stinging cells as being similar to a blow. electric shock.
sailboat

Previously, zoologists classified the sailfish as a siphonophore, because these animals lead similar image life. However, later scientists decided that these solitary floating organisms are a separate order of the Hydroid class.
Sailboats are animals of tropical and subtropical seas. They live only in those seas and oceans whose water temperature does not fall below 15°C.
Like the Portuguese man-of-war, the sailboat is passively carried by winds and currents. Its strongly flattened body resembles an oval, the long axis of which in adults reaches 10–12 cm. On the upper side of the body there is an elegantly shaped vertical plate - a “sail”. Like the Portuguese man-of-war, the “sail” is somewhat curved, and therefore the sailboat does not sail straight under the influence of the wind, but turns from time to time.
The upper side of the sailfish's body is covered with a chitinous shell and carries a gas bubble - a pneumatophore, which supports the animal on the surface of the water. On the lower, submerged surface there is a mouth opening and many tentacles surrounding it.
The tentacles help sailfish find and catch prey. These coelenterates feed on the larvae of various animals, small crustaceans, fish fry and almost all organisms that make up marine plankton.
Sailfish often form huge aggregations. Sometimes in some place in the ocean you can swim several kilometers, constantly observing sailfish to the right and left of the sides. When this whole mass moves with the wind, it feels like a huge flock of animals is floating.
Unlike jellyfish, swallowtails do not retreat to deeper water before a storm approaches. They fearlessly rush through the raging waves, and if the water turns them over, they immediately return to the correct position.
Amazing feature biology of sailboats is their cohabitation with many marine organisms. Floating on the surface of the water like small rafts, defenseless sailboats are used by other animals for rest, settlement, protection from enemies, reproduction and other purposes.
The most terrible companion for a sailboat is predatory snail Yantina. Having discovered a sailfish, it settles on the underside of its body and gradually eats it almost entirely. All that remains of the sailboat is a chitinous skeleton. Meanwhile, the predator is looking for a new victim, since sailfish live in large concentrations. To avoid drowning during the search, the snail builds its own raft from the foam it secretes.
In addition to the yantina, other predatory mollusks are also not averse to profiting from the sailfish, for example, the nudibranch mollusks aeolis and glaucus.
The remains of the sailboat still float on the surface of the water for some time and are populated by new “tenants”: hydroid polyps, small sessile crustaceans, bryozoans, sea worms, shrimp. Crustaceans also sometimes try to eat sailfish.
Small crabs from the genus Planes travel on sailboats, just like on rafts. Aquatic predators they simply don’t see such passengers from the water column. When crabs need food, they move to the underside of the sailfish’s body and try to hunt or simply take food from the owner.
A floating sailfish can serve as a convenient place for some fish to lay eggs. One of the flying fish, for example, places its eggs on the underside of the sailfish's body.

Senkevich This is how he spoke about his meeting with the “ship”:“Without thinking twice, I grabbed it, roared in pain, and feverishly began to wash my fingers sea water, but the sticky mucus did not lag behind. An attempt to wash off the mucus with soap was also unsuccessful. My hands burned and ached, my fingers were difficult to bend. Spraying with an anesthetic medicine from a special spray bottle relieved the pain for a few minutes, but it immediately returned with renewed vigor. The fingers could no longer bend, the pain began to spread to the shoulders and further to the heart area, the general state of health was disgusting. I took two tablets of analgin, validol, pyramidon and, as they say, fell into bed. I was shaking with chills. It subsided gradually. At first it felt better right hand, then left. The pain subsided only after five hours. But the malaise lasted for a long time..."

Sometimes Portuguese ships fall into the Gulf Stream and are carried by this current into the English Channel. When they gather off the coast of England and France or For example, near Florida beaches, television, radio and print warn the public of the danger.

The “Portuguese man-of-war” is not even one jellyfish, but a colony of one or two hundred jellyfish and polyps. The man-of-war colonies look like unusually elegant balls, often drifting in entire “flotillas” on the surface of the ocean. From time to time, the boat dips the float in water so that the membrane does not dry out.
(www.examen.ru)
Physalia venom is very close in its effect to cobra venom. The introduction of even a small dose under the skin of laboratory animals ended tragically for them. This poison is unusually resistant to drying and freezing, and the tentacles of the siphonophore, which had lain for six (!) years in the refrigerator, perfectly retained their deadly properties.
(old.vesti.ru)
Despite the toxicity of physalia, some sea turtles they eat them in huge quantities. People, of course, don’t eat physalia, but they also find uses for them. Farmers in Guadeloupe (Caribbean) and Colombia use dried physalia tentacles as rat poison.
(www.examen.ru)
... there is a representative of the sea kingdom, to which physalia is not only not an enemy, but, on the contrary, a necessary companion (although friendship is understood here in a very unique way). This is the octopus Tremoctopus violaceus. He calmly breaks off the poisonous threads of the "Portuguese man of war" and winds them around his four front "arms". Now the octopus is armed, dangerous and incredibly beautiful (from the octopus's point of view, of course). The tentacles of the physalia do not harm it, but serve as an excellent means of attack.
(www.hiking.ru)

Poisonous physalia. Photo: Shutterstock.com

In Thailand, on the island of Phuket, three popular beaches - Naithon, Nai Yang and Layan - were closed for swimming. Reason emergency measure There was an invasion of poisonous physalia, the bite of which is dangerous to humans.

Physalia, or, as it is also called, the Portuguese man-of-war - close relative jellyfish, but it's not a real jellyfish. Physalia belong to very primitive invertebrate organisms - siphonophores. In fact, it is a floating colony consisting of many polyps that perform a specific role. Some get food, others process it, others are responsible for reproduction, and others are responsible for protection. All polyps together are a whole organism.

The most common type of physalia is the Portuguese man-of-war. It received this name because of its bright color and shape, reminiscent of the sail of a medieval Portuguese ship. From the gas-filled swim bladder, short digestive organs- gastrozoids. Behind them are located spirally...

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An amazingly beautiful creation of nature - the Portuguese man-of-war (physalia) - is as dangerous as it is attractive. To avoid getting burned, it is better to admire it from a distance.

And, one might say, there is something to admire: above the surface of the water, the “sail”, similar to those that adorned medieval ships, gently silvers and shimmers with blue, violet and purple colors. Its top, the crest, is bright red, and the lower part, from which long, sometimes up to 30 meters, hunting tentacles extend, is blue.

Portuguese Man of War - Jellyfish or not?

It must be said that, although this creature is a close relative of jellyfish, it still does not belong to them. The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, a primitive invertebrate organism. It is a colony of four types of polyps coexisting together. Each of them performs its assigned function.

Thanks to the first polyp - a gas bubble, the beauty of which we admire, the Portuguese man-of-war stays afloat and can...

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The Portuguese man-of-war got its name from its bright, multi-colored swim bladder, reminiscent of the sail of a medieval Portuguese ship. It is difficult to see it, and there is no desire to look closely at the water, especially if you are swimming in a completely peaceful area of the hotel beach. Although it is quite bright, even somewhat kitschy: the lower part of the bladder is blue, the top has a bright red crest, and the whole thing shimmers with purple flowers, and its swim bladder, about 30 centimeters in size, looks like a rubber cap.

In any case, if you feel a sharp pain, as if from a whiplash or electric shock, you can safely scream. Firstly, from surprise, and secondly, you may urgently need help. Physalia venom is very close in its effect to cobra venom. The introduction of even a small dose under the skin of laboratory animals ended tragically for them. If you are allergic, then help should be immediate; if not, then you should still be prepared for some unpleasant...

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Creatures with such a romantic name are close relatives of jellyfish, and in the scientific world they are officially called “siphonophora physalia.” If only a few jellyfish are poisonous, then all physalia are poisonous, without exception.

Physalia poison is not fatal for humans, but the consequences can be extremely unpleasant. Swelling, numbness, burning and even short-term paralysis if the poisonous tentacle touches the spine area. It is very dangerous in water. But physalia are no less dangerous on land. During a storm, the sea throws hundreds of Portuguese ships ashore; the thin tentacles dry out instantly and are carried away by the wind. Physalia poison is very persistent and does not lose its properties either when dried or frozen. If a dried tentacle comes into contact with the skin, irritation or allergic reaction secured. That is why swimming or visiting the beach is prohibited in resort areas if swimming physalia were spotted nearby.

Externally, Portuguese ships are very beautiful. They look like a scalloped balloon floating in water, inflated...

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Portuguese man-of-war, physalia, bluebottle jellyfish are the most famous names this jellyfish. Lives in warm waters(Florida, Cuba, Mediterranean, Australia, Japan). Often the Gulf Stream brings them to the shores of England and France. When they accumulate off the coast of England and France or, for example, near the beaches of Florida, television, radio and the press warn the population of the danger.

Jellyfish are poisonous even when washed ashore. The shoots reach a length of up to 10 meters (which is like a thread in the sand).
The "Portuguese man-of-war" got its name from its multi-colored swim bladder, which is shaped like the sail of a medieval Portuguese sailing vessel. The bottom of the bubble is blue, and the top is bright red, while the bubble constantly shimmers with purple colors. The bell of this jellyfish shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow from blue to purple, similar to a rubber cap.

Beauty,...

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What would you think if, while swimming in the sea, you saw a very strange “composition” consisting of processes of unknown length and a very bright body, reminiscent of a bubble on the surface of the water. It’s difficult to immediately guess what kind of miracle is in front of you - maybe it’s a flower, or maybe such an extraordinary fish?

It doesn’t look like a fish, and it doesn’t look like an animal either, but you need to approach the desired creature carefully, or better yet, avoid contact with it altogether. Because a bright and beautiful bubble is just a trick and a trap of the Portuguese man of war - the most dangerous poisonous creature on the planet...

Portuguese man-of-war. Jellyfish or invertebrate? Photos and survival instructions.

Appearance and dimensions

What is the Portuguese man-of-war and why does it take special pleasure to poison its victims - fish and others? sea creatures? Many people think that these are the most dangerous jellyfish, but this is not entirely true. Outwardly resembling a jellyfish, the Portuguese man-of-war is different from it and is considered...

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PHYSALIA'S LIFESTYLE

Physalia (see photo) often swim in warm seas numerous groups, often numbering several thousand jellyfish. The transparent bubble of the jellyfish body, shining in the sun, rises approximately 15 cm above the water and looks like a small sail. What is surprising is that the jellyfish is able to move even against the wind without deviating from its chosen path. The physalia jellyfish is usually found close to the shore, but in the warm season it willingly moves with the current in the direction of the earth's poles. Powerful winds blowing from the sea towards the coast can throw this jellyfish onto land.

BREEDING THE PORTUGUESE MAN OFFER

It is not known for sure how the physalia jellyfish reproduces. All that scientists have found out is that physalia reproduces asexually and in the colonies there are polyps responsible for reproduction. It is they who found new colonies.

Since jellyfish have the ability to reproduce without interruption,...

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Many people have encountered a jellyfish at least once in their lives. This meeting was not pleasant for everyone, since some species sting upon contact with the skin, that is, they leave burns, and often very painful ones. The Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish, among other things, is also famous for this.

A little about jellyfish

Probably most people have encountered these organisms in one way or another. They are absolutely extraordinary and fascinating in the water, but on land they don’t look so impressive. We are talking about jellyfish - a stage of development of some organisms. They may look very different, but they also have something in common, so that even those who see them for the first time will be able to recognize them quite easily: they are often almost transparent and resemble a dome or parachute in shape.

There is a huge variety of jellyfish living in different parts planet, so you can encounter them both at the southern resort and in northern latitudes. Usually most of them are not too dangerous, although such proximity to...

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The Portuguese man-of-war (lat. Physalia physalis) is a species of colonial hydroid from the order of siphonophores, the colony of which consists of polypoid and medusoid individuals.

This coelenterate creature is often called a jellyfish, but the Portuguese man-of-war is not a jellyfish, but a siphonophore - a colony of coelenterates. Such a colony includes polypoid and medusoid individuals living as a single harmonious organism. Portuguese man-of-war are very common marine animals - they can be found in almost all warm-water areas of the oceans and seas - from latitudes Japanese Islands to Australia and New Zealand. Sometimes the winds drive such masses of these coelenterate organisms to the shore that it feels like coastal waters covered with colored jelly.

The dome of the Portuguese man-of-war is very beautiful, and usually shimmers with blue-purple colors with purple-red tints. Its length along the “body” can reach 20-25 cm, but ordinary...

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Initially, Portuguese man-of-war could only be found in the waters of the Gulf Stream, as well as in the tropics of the Indian and Pacific oceans. But since 1989, this flotilla was carried into the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists believe that the main reasons for their relocation were global warming and the disappearance of food due to large volumes of fish catching.

Portuguese man-of-war plying the ocean

Tentacles

The Portuguese ship fully lives up to its name, which it received back in the 15th century in honor of the flotilla of Henry the Navigator. Its upper part, which is a large transparent bubble 15-20 cm in length, is very similar to the stern of a ship. Moving...

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And finally, about poisonous hydroids - physalia, which received the name “Portuguese man-of-war” for their appearance. This animal belongs to the lower coelenterates, which have a highly developed poisonous apparatus for attack and defense. They live in tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Animals easily stay in water due to a gas-filled swim bladder, which serves as a hydrostatic apparatus for physalia.

Physalia (Physalia physalis) - poisonous jellyfish living in tropical waters

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Physalia

» Dangerous animals » Physalia

Physalia (Latin name Physalia) is a representative of the family Physalidae, group Pneumatophoridae, order of siphonophores. In nature, physalia live in a vast colony, in which, along with 100-250 physalia, there are also many polyps. Meeting at large quantities in the open sea and floating on the surface of the water, they present a very beautiful sight.

Signs

The most common form of physalia is the form of a large bladder. Its diameter can reach 30 centimeters in length. The bubble is filled with nitrogen and carbon dioxide, with minimal oxygen. In the event of a storm, this helps the physalia to quickly get rid of the contents of the bubble and go to the bottom.

The upper part of the bubble is decorated with a ridge. The ridge allows the physalia to easily maneuver underwater. By appearance it resembles the sail of a medieval Portuguese ship. This is where its second name, “Portuguese warship,” came from.

In nature, physalia is very...

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In calm, windless weather sea water so pure that it can be seen to great depth. It’s at this time that you can see some strange, almost transparent creatures flickering in its thickness, like shadows. In appearance they resemble a bell or an umbrella. These are jellyfish that got their due scary name not by chance.

In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa (snake-haired maiden) was the name given to one of the sisters of the Gorgons, winged monsters capable of turning living beings into stone with their gaze. Medusa had snakes on her head instead of hair.

This scary name people gave it to the fragile inhabitants of the depths not only because tentacles flutter along the edges of their bodies, reminiscent of bending reptiles, but also because with their poison they can inflict damage on humans, sometimes leading to death.

The poisonous apparatus of all representatives of coelenterates consists of stinging capsules - nematocysts, located mainly on their tentacles in the outer layer. From the outer surface of the stinging...

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The Portuguese man-of-war is not just a beautiful creation of nature. This is a real killer jellyfish that floats on the surface of the water with the help of a transparent bubble filled with gas.

The Portuguese man-of-war consists of two parts: a large transparent gas-filled bladder in the upper part of the body and tentacles, the length of which can reach 30 m. The poison is contained in the stinging cells of the tentacles. The bubble is usually blue, violet or purple.

Spanish tourism is under threat due to the penetration of a dangerous coelenterate into the Mediterranean Sea - the poisonous Portuguese man-of-war Physalia physalis. In common parlance it is called the “killer jellyfish,” although it is more correct to classify it as a siphonophore, an order of pelagic cnidarians from the hydroid class.

"Portuguese man-on-war" (lat. Physalia physalis) (English: Portuguese man-on-war or Caravela portuguesa)

Initially, Portuguese man-of-war could only be found in the waters...

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An amazingly beautiful creation of nature - the Portuguese man-of-war (physalia) - is as dangerous as it is attractive.

The Portuguese man-of-war (lat. Physalia physalis) belongs to very primitive, but very interesting invertebrate organisms - siphonophores, close relatives of the jellyfish familiar to us all. This is perhaps one of the most numerous inhabitants of the ocean surface.

In some physalia, the swim bladder protrudes above the surface of the water, acting as a sail. From the hydrostatic apparatus (pneumatophore), a special trunk goes down, to which the remaining individuals of the colony are attached; their number can reach several hundred. In short, physalia is not a separate organism. Physalia belong to the colonial forms. Numerous tentacles of physalia are equipped with a huge number of stinging cells containing a poisonous secretion. The tentacles are almost colorless, they blend into the sea water and are difficult to distinguish for swimmers.
The length of the animal (pneumatophore) is about 20–30 centimeters. Dactylozoids reach 50 meters in size, but very often they are in a “folded” state.

It is a colony of four types of polyps coexisting together. Each of them performs its assigned function.
Thanks to the first polyp - a gas bubble, the beauty of which we admire, the Portuguese man-of-war stays afloat and can drift in the ocean waters. Another polyp, dactylozooids, are hunting tentacles, along the entire enormous length of which stinging cells are located, injecting poison into the prey. Small fish, fry, and crustaceans die immediately from it, and paralysis occurs in larger ones. Thanks to the hunting tentacles, the caught prey is dragged to the third type of polyps - gastrozoids, which digest food, breaking down proteins, carbohydrates and fats. And the fourth type - gonozoids - perform the function of reproduction.

The Portuguese man-of-war can only move due to the current or wind. In the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic or Indian Oceans you can meet a whole flotilla. But sometimes they “deflate” their bubbles and dive into the water to avoid danger. And they have someone to fear: despite their toxicity, the boats serve as prey for some species of animals. For example, sea turtles (loggerhead, loggerhead turtle), sunfish or shellfish (nudibranch, yantina) can significantly thin out the ranks of sailfish. But the shepherd fish lives among the long tentacles of the physalia as a parasite. The poison has no effect on this fish, but it reliably protects it from numerous enemies, and the shepherd itself feeds on the remains of the patron’s prey and the dead tips of dactylozoans.

On the surface of the water this animal is very beautiful. Upper part its brightly colored and vaguely reminiscent of the colors of old Portuguese sailing ships, hence the name of this animal. If you look closely at the physalia, rising above the surface of the sea by about 30 cm in length, you can see how it shimmers with blue, violet and purple colors due to the reflection sun rays from its edges.

It is not known for certain how physalia reproduces. All that scientists have found out is that physalia reproduces asexually and in the colonies there are polyps responsible for reproduction. It is they who found new colonies.
Since jellyfish have the ability to reproduce without interruption, a colossal number of jellyfish are born in the seas and oceans. It is assumed that this jellyfish is capable of reproducing in another way - there is an opinion that the physalia jellyfish - the Portuguese man-of-war, when dying, throws into the ocean whole clusters of jellyfish-like organisms, which form reproductive products that serve to create new jellyfish.

It is already known that the Portuguese man-of-war is a stinging animal, which means it has in its arsenal formidable weapon- stinging cells. These physalia cells are filled with poison that affects not only animals, but also humans. Poisonous substance, which fills the stinging cells, has a paralytic effect, causing death in the inhabitants of the oceans who were unlucky enough to become victims of physalia. In humans, the poison of the Portuguese Man of War causes a burn. It is believed that a burn should not be washed fresh water, because whole stinging cells may still remain on the skin, which are quickly destroyed by such water, and it turns out that the poison gets back onto the skin.

INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTUGUESE SHIP...

Physalia is a joint colony of modified jellyfish and polyps, so closely related to each other that they exhibit all the features of a whole organism.
- This jellyfish was nicknamed the “Portuguese man-of-war” by sailors of the 18th century, who talked about a jellyfish that floats like a medieval Portuguese warship.
- The most poisonous variety of physalia lives in Indian and Pacific Oceans, her poison represents mortal danger for a person.
- By the way, even when dried, the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war remain very dangerous to humans.
- A burn from the Portuguese Man of War is comparable in toxicity to a bite poisonous snake. But only in rare cases, physalia burns lead to death.

These animals have several names: Latin and very feminine - “physalia” and Russian, sounding warlike, “Portuguese warships”, often shortened simply to “Portuguese boats”. This name itself is mysterious, and if you consider that such a contradictory combination accurately reflects the character of these creatures, then the story about them can intrigue anyone. So who are these mysterious strangers?

It would be more correct to start the story about physalia with their systematic position. These marine animals belong to the class Hydroids, which means that their relatives are such coelenterates as jellyfish, sea anemones, corals, as well as the lesser known porpitas and velellas. Similar to Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish appearance. The body of the physalia is devoid of any skeletal elements; it is not just soft, but very delicate, translucent, of all possible shades sea wave. The appearance of the Portuguese man-of-war can be divided into two parts: an oblong bladder up to 30 cm long, very similar to the swim bladder of fish, and many tentacles hanging in thick strands underneath it.

Physalia, or Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis).

The bubble, at first glance, seems to be an analogue of the jellyfish dome, but it is designed fundamentally differently. Unlike the dome of a jellyfish, which is open at the bottom and capable of contracting, the bladder of the physalia is hermetically sealed and filled with air with a high content carbon dioxide, therefore scientifically it is called a pneumatophore (“air carrier”). The pneumatophore prevents the Portuguese man-of-war from sinking, but at the same time, it makes it possible to partially regulate the depth of the dive by changing the concentration of carbon dioxide, and therefore the density air environment. The pneumatophore is equipped with a ridge on top, which gives it sailing properties. For all its apparent fragility, the pneumatophore is quite elastic and durable.

The translucent body of physalia is colored in the entire spectrum of blue: from soft blue to rich turquoise. In many individuals, the pneumatophore above has a pink or magenta-violet color.

But with the underwater part of the physalia everything is much more complicated. What appears to be part of a body from afar is actually a colony of tiny organisms. And in this respect, Portuguese ships are much closer to colonial ones coral polyps than to jellyfish, which are solitary animals. The entire population of the colony is divided into identical groups - cormidia, whose members specialize in performing certain functions. In each cormidia, the leading roles are played by gastrozoans, gonozoids and nectophores.

Close-up of the intricate web of tentacles of the Portuguese Man of War.

Gastrozoids have thin, but unusually long tentacles for such miniature creatures - their length reaches 50 m! The tentacles can contract and carry stinging cells that can shoot poison. They pull the killed prey to their mouth, because the duties of gastrozoids include catching and digesting lunch. And this banquet is being organized for the sake of gonozoids, who do not know how to hunt, but are responsible for procreation. Periodically, the multiplied gonozoids separate from the mother colony and set off on their own. As truly colonial organisms, they undertake this journey not alone, but in groups that look like a branched tree (called gonodendra). The problem is that gonodendras cannot swim. This is where nectophores, who have not shown themselves for the time being, come to the rescue. Each gonodendra is equipped with one nekotophore, which has a swimming bell like a jellyfish. It contracts and moves the young colony to the surface of the water; over time, it acquires its own pneumatophore and turns into an adult Portuguese man-of-war. In adult physalia, nectophores no longer play a role in movement and again wait in the wings when a change of generations occurs.

The tiny Portuguese man-of-war already has a visible dome and the beginnings of tentacles.

The movement of adult Portuguese man-of-war is amazing. On the one hand, the fragile and primitive members of the colony are incapable of active movements and any meaningful activity. On the other hand, during life, physalia are rarely washed ashore, which cannot be said about highly developed dolphins and giant whales, which often suffer such misfortune. The secret of these animals lies in the pneumatophore. It is attached to the trunk of the colony obliquely and motionlessly - exactly like a tightly stretched sail. When the wind hits lateral surface pneumatophore, the physalia swims, and when it blows at the “bow” or “stern”, it remains motionless on the surface of the water, simply drifting. Thus, gradually turning around their own axis, these animals perform continuous circular migrations, localized mainly in open ocean waters. For this unsurpassed ability to catch the required wind, physalia were called boats.

Young physalia in which a full-fledged pneumatophore has not yet formed, but the tentacles are already well developed.

It is interesting that among these animals there are born right-handed and left-handed, in which the pneumatophore is deviated to the right or left from the body axis. In practice, this leads to the fact that right-sided and left-sided physalia catch the wind opposite directions, so over time life literally separates them into different sides. Sailors, finding large concentrations of adult Portuguese ships in the ocean, know for sure that all the “ships” of this armada will have the same sails. However, there is an element over which the drifting flotilla has no control. These are currents.

Strong tides and storm waves bring delicate physalia to the shore and then on the sand you can see a mournful picture of a massive “shipwreck”. A seagull decided to feast on the remains of this.

A romantic story about living ships would be incomplete without revealing dark side their nature. By the nature of their diet, Portuguese man-of-war are predators. The prey of these animals consists mainly of fry, small fish and squid, but the gentle creatures use strong poison to kill them. It has a paralytic effect on prey, and upon contact with human skin it leaves burning red scars on it. In high concentrations, the poison penetrates the skin and causes swelling of the larynx, suffocation, cardiac dysfunction, and in especially severe cases, death. If you come into contact with physalia, you should wash the affected area of skin with salt water as soon as possible. It will remove the remaining nematocyst capsules without releasing the poison, and if you re-wash the skin hot water, this will speed up the breakdown of the toxin that has already entered the skin. Sometimes, after such treatment, it is advised to additionally apply shaving cream to the skin and run a razor over it several times to remove remaining stinging cells. But fresh water It should not be used under any circumstances, as it causes the nematocysts to burst, releasing new portions of poison. Previously, it was recommended to treat the skin with vinegar, but the results of its use are contradictory and this method has now been abandoned.

Among the tentacles of this physalia you can see an unlucky fish.

The main danger of physalia lies in the persistence of their poison and the nematocysts carrying it: even tentacles torn from the colony and individuals that died several days ago can burn. This increases the likelihood of a burn when swimming or accidentally touching a boat washed ashore. Every year, up to 30,000 victims of contact with Portuguese warships are recorded around the world. After storms that wash physalia ashore, some beaches even have to be closed.

Nematocysts of the Indo-Pacific physalia (Physalia utriculus), inside of which are coiled stinging threads. When the poison capsule is damaged, they shoot out, delivering the toxin directly to the victim’s tissues.

The Portuguese ships themselves are also not spared from trouble. They are fearlessly fed by webbed octopuses and sunfish, which are immune to poison, as well as loggerhead turtles, whose oral cavity is impenetrable to stinging tentacles. Yantina snails and the nudibranch mollusk glaucus (Glaucus) are especially insidious. They use the physalia pneumatophore as a shelter and home, and instead of gratitude, they gradually eat their owner. Not so vicious are the small nomeus fish, which constantly stay under the pneumatophores of boats. Although they pinch off pieces of tentacles, they do not eat them completely, finding in their plexus reliable protection from large fish. Good neighbors of physalia are yellowjacks, which often swim in the midst of “fleets”.

Two glaucuses (Glaucus atlanticus) are attempting to kill this Portuguese man-of-war.

There are two types of physalia known in the world: the Portuguese man-of-war, which lives in Atlantic Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific physalia, whose name eloquently indicates that it can be found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Indo-Pacific physalia differs from its counterpart in its smaller size (pneumatophore length up to 16 cm), one long tentacle and less toxicity: not a single fatal outcome has been recorded with its participation.