Portuguese Man of War type of animal. What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish: treatment and prevention. Description and features

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 coasts 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).
« Portuguese man of war"received its name for its multi-colored swim bladder, which is shaped like the sail of a medieval Portuguese sailing ship. The lower part of the bubble is blue, and the upper 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, however, is deceiving.
Many people mistakenly attribute "Portuguese man-of-war" to jellyfish. In fact, they belong to the order of siphonophores ("siphonophora physalia"), which can only move under the influence of wind and water currents. The length of the Portuguese Man of War tentacles can reach 50 meters, and contact with them can be fatal.

The poison of the "ships" is very dangerous. Allergy sufferers are especially affected by it, who are advised to immediately consult a doctor in case of contact with physalia, otherwise the matter may end in death. The most common consequence of contact with a “ship” is long-term pain at the burn site and inflammation of the wound. A person may develop nausea, chills, and heart pain.
If a person touches it, blisters will appear on the skin like a burn. It will hurt for about 5 hours. Wiping off the mucus will not help, on the contrary, it will only get worse.
Doctors strongly advise not to wash off the poison of the "Portuguese Man of Man" fresh water because it will only make the pain worse. A reliable remedy that will relieve an unpleasant burning sensation is three percent vinegar, which should be moistened with the affected areas.
The general condition will also worsen and will last for several days. When you see this beauty in the water, immediately swim as far away from it as possible. Turtles feed on these jellyfish.


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 consequences.


First of all, quite long-term pain at the burn site followed by inflammation of the wound. Muscle twitching, chills, nausea, vomiting may develop, all of which can result in pain in the heart. Our famous traveler Yuri Senkevich described his condition after contact with the “ship” as severe and quite long-lasting. And the worst thing is that sea water then irritates the wound for a long time, and if such a nuisance happened in the first days of rest, then only you can decide what to do. The only thing we can safely advise is to consult a doctor, and not be content with the ointments that will be offered to you at the hotel (along with sympathetic glances).

In the event that you are not vacationing on a vacation package, and for some reason you do not have insurance, do not despair. In most countries there are free hospitals, and some of them give a head start to Russian paid ones. And no insurance is required, which is interesting.


Dangerous Beauty
So, burns are not always fatal, although the Portuguese man-of-war is considered the second most dangerous jellyfish in the world (in the strict sense of the word, it is not exactly a jellyfish, but a whole colony of one or two hundred jellyfish and polyps).
A doctor is desirable, or rather, even mandatory, to relieve intoxication and infection. The mark remains, perhaps, for life, but fades and fades over the years... And who knows, maybe it will become a wonderful memory, or, perhaps, a source of some pride for you?

Even if you are an excellent swimmer, water is always not the most native element for a person. Of course, you shouldn’t be afraid and get lost in it; you just need to strive to love, know and understand it. Like many other things in life, probably.

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, in all possible shades of sea green. 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 of carbon dioxide, which is why it is scientifically called a pneumatophore (“air pump”). 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 of the 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 is pink or magenta-violet.

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. How true colonial organisms they undertake this journey not alone, but in groups that look like a branched tree (it is 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 taut 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 winds of opposite directions, so over time, life literally separates them in different directions. 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 leaves burning red welts on it. In high concentrations, the poison penetrates the skin and causes swelling of the larynx, suffocation, cardiac dysfunction, 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. And here 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 impenetrable to stinging tentacles. Yantina snails and the nudibranch mollusk glaucus (Glaucus) are especially insidious. They use the physalia pneumatophore as 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: none fatal outcome with her participation is not registered.

And this physalia was lucky. She floats calmly in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by good neighbors- nomeus fish (Nomeus gronovii).

The Portuguese man-of-war is a poisonous physalia hydroid. They are invertebrate forms of organisms - siphonophores, which are close to the jellyfish we know. They got their name because appearance. But in fact, this is not a separate creature, but a colony of small creatures of 4 species, which together form such an interesting and unique creature.

The first type of polyp forms a bubble with air, thanks to which the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish moves. The second type of polyp forms tentacles that catch and neutralize prey. The third type of polyp is responsible for digesting food. And the fourth type of polyp is responsible for reproduction.

Style: Portuguese Man of War

Genus: Physalia

Family: Physaliidae

Class: Hydroid

Order: Siphonophores

Type: Stinging

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Lifestyle of the Portuguese Man of War

Drifting on the sea is the way of life of the “Little Man of Portugal”. They move with the help of water flow and wind currents. Several thousand species of individuals often swim in warm seas, united in groups.

The swim bladder of this animal is filled with gas; it serves as a hydrostatic apparatus for the physalia. The bubble looks like the stern of a ship. The boat moves due to the wind or water current. The tentacles hiding under the water of this animal can reach a length of up to 50 meters. They are equipped with stinging cells, which, like harpoons, pierce their prey and inject poison. If you come into contact with the tentacles, severe burns remain on the skin. 3-5% vinegar usually helps relieve pain.

Portuguese Man of War video

Reproduction of the Portuguese Man of War

Reproduction occurs asexually. Scientists have found that colonies contain polyps that are responsible for reproduction. They create new colonies. Dying, the "Portuguese man-of-war" releases whole clusters of jellyfish into the ocean, which develop reproductive products that serve to form new jellyfish. Currently, this species of animal is not in danger of extinction.

If you liked this material, share it with your friends on in social networks. Thank you!

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.

Is the Portuguese Man of War a jellyfish or not?

It must be said that although this creature close relative jellyfish, but still does not belong to those. 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 drift in the ocean waters.

Another polyp, dactylozooids, are hunting tentacles, along the entire enormous length of which they inject poison into the prey. Small fish, fry, and crustaceans die immediately from it, and paralysis occurs in larger ones. By the way, even when dried, the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war remain very dangerous to humans.

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.

Amazing flotilla

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 find a whole flotilla of physalia that look like elegant inflatable toys.

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 coveted prey for some species of animals. For example, (loggerhead, loggerhead turtle), sunfish or 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 ends of dactylozoids.

"Medusa" the Portuguese man-of-war is as dangerous as a cobra!

The ship is especially dangerous for children and the elderly, as well as for those who suffer from allergic reactions. Painful swelling forms at the burn site, and muscle cramps may begin. The victim's temperature rises, chills, nausea and vomiting appear.

Do not rinse the affected area with fresh water, this will only increase the pain. But vinegar can neutralize the poison of physalia. Therefore, they treat burns with it, after scraping the skin to remove the remnants of stinging cells.

But the best thing is, having seen a flotilla of glamorous “sailboats” from afar, leave the water as soon as possible, admiring them from afar. Alas, this beauty is scorching!

Going to seaside resort, people do not think about the dangers that may await them in the waters warm sea. One of these dangers is the predatory inhabitants of the sea. Most people believe that the only dangers at sea are predatory fish. Unfortunately, this is far from the case. The so-called "Portuguese man-of-war" pose a real danger to humans.

The "Portuguese man-of-war" looks like a transparent comb with tentacles. The length of these tentacles can reach several meters. These inhabitants of the sea got their name due to the similarity of their color to the colors of the Portuguese fleet.

These physalia, dangerous to humans, are stinging invertebrates and belong to the group of siphonophores. Their tentacles contain stinging cells, which contain a portion of very strong poison. When the tentacle touches the body of the victim, the stinging cells shoot portions of poison at it.

People who have experienced contact with the tentacles of the "Man of War" report that the sensation from contact with the stinging cells of these physalia can be compared to with a strong blow whip. A mark appears on the human body, which is a burn. Needless to say, the pain is simply terrible. Some people lose consciousness, unable to bear such terrible pain. The predator's venom penetrates the human bloodstream, after which it affects the lungs and heart of the victim.

Depending on which “Portuguese man-of-war” a person encounters, there will be different consequences from the ingestion of the predator’s venom into the body. The victim may feel short of breath, arrhythmia of the heart, etc. If the case is severe, then death is likely.

At the very peak velvet season Physalia have overrun the beaches of Thailand. The authorities of this state are urgently closing the beaches so as not to endanger the lives of vacationers. By the way, this behavior of the “Portuguese ships” is not usual, since, as a rule, there are quite a few of them in the waters of this state. The reason for the invasion of stinging invertebrates on the beaches of Thailand is a mystery to scientists.

It should be noted that it is forbidden not only to swim in waters full of poisonous sea ​​creatures, but even touching dead predators washed up on the shoreline. The fact is that stinging cells with poison continue to act even after the predator’s body has died.

Those who came into contact with the Man of Portugal must take safety precautions to avoid causing further harm to their health.

There is no need to remove the tentacle from the damaged area. The fact is that if damaged, the stinging cells will continue to release new portions of poison, which will not add health to the victim. In order to separate the predator's tentacles from the body, it is necessary to water them with fresh water. If this does not help, then you need to use food vinegar. The affected area on the human body cannot be washed with fresh water.

It should be noted that “Portuguese man-of-war” and “box jellyfish” carry away about eight dozen human lives. However, if due diligence is exercised, the danger of becoming a victim poisonous inhabitants sea ​​waters can be minimized.

Did you like this article? Then, press.