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Portugese man-of-war

Portugese man-of-war
Portugese man-of-war
Portugese man-of-war
Portugese man-of-war
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55528
Madin, Laurence
Portugese man-of-war
Still Image
04/18/2006
Physalia_2.jpg
Image Of the Day repeat caption:
The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is infamous for its painful stinging tentacles that can extend up to 10 meters (33 feet) long down from the surface. They are used to catch small fish, usually at night. The man-of-war may look like a jellyfish, but it's actually a siphonophore. An individual is actually made up of genetically identically, but highly specialized, units called zooids: its gas-filled bladder, its tentacles, its digestive units, and its reproductive structures. Although man-of-wars are occasional visitors to Cape Cod, Mass., they are usually found in warmer coastal areas. Many other siphonophores inhabit the ocean's twilight zone, thousands of feet below sunlit surface waters.
Image of The Day:
Physalia physalis, commonly known as the Portuguese man-of-war or bluebottle, lives in warm waters worldwide and is famous for its painful stinging tentacles up to 50 meters (165 feet) long. The gas-filled float and crest at top acts like a sail.
Photo by Laurence Madin
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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