If you stay out of the water the man-o-war is not an issue. ~Bob West
Unless he washes up on the beach?
Well, I don’t know if this little guy was a baby or a piece of a larger man-o-war. He was only about 4 – 6 inches long and had one tentacle, approximately 2 ft. long. I compared my photo with those on Google and this creature appears to be a Portuguese man-o-war.
I found a stick to pick him up and returned him to the surf. It seemed like the correct thing to do, since there were no swimmers as far as the eye could see.
Fun Facts About the Portuguese Man o’ War
1. The Portuguese man o’ war is not a jellyfish, but rather a siphonophore, which is a colony of specialized animals called zooids that work together as one.
2. The Portuguese man o’ war doesn’t swim. Instead, it uses wind and ocean currents to propel it forward.
3. The Portuguese man o’ war was named after its resemblance to 18th century Portuguese warships.
4. The Portuguese man o war’s float can be up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall.
5. The Portuguese man o’ war’s tentacles grow as long as 165 feet (50 m).
(Courtesy of Oceana.org)
Bluelight
The lovely blue color of this sea creature appeared luminous in the sun’s rays emitting blue-light. However, this completely misrepresents it’s true nature as a highly poisonous animal capable of delivering a very painful sting.
