Portuguese Man of War type of animal. The Portuguese Man of War is a beauty that burns. A special organ of the physalia

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 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 residues. 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!

In Thailand - Naithon, Nai Yang and Layan. The reason for the emergency measure was the invasion of poisonous physalia, the bite of which is dangerous to humans.

Physalia, or, as it is also called, Portuguese man of war is a close relative of the jellyfish, but it is 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 spirally twisted movable tentacles - dactylozoids. In most physalia they reach 10-20 cm; in the Pacific physalia, one of the tentacles, the so-called lasso, can reach 13 or more meters in length. At the ends of each tentacle there are poisonous stinging cells. When the fish stumbles upon them, the poison from the capsules paralyzes the prey, and the tentacle pulls it towards the mouth.

Why are physalia dangerous for humans?

In contact with the physalia, a person can receive a large, painful burn. Blisters appear on the victim's skin, lymph nodes become enlarged, sweating increases, nausea appears, and it becomes difficult to breathe. A victim of a bite may experience swollen or numb arms or legs. If the tentacles touch the spine, this can lead to paralysis, which is deadly when swimming in a pond.

In physalia washed ashore, the poison retains its properties. Even a dried tentacle that lands on the beach as a result of a storm causes irritation and an allergic reaction.

Where are physalia found?

Physalia are found in the tropical Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, off the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of southern Japan. Portuguese ships often fall into the Gulf Stream and are carried by this current into the English Channel to the shores of England and France.

What precautions should you take?

If while swimming in the sea you see a boat approaching, you should immediately swim away from it, it is better to go ashore.

You should be careful in the physalia habitat area and on the beach. If a storm has recently passed, the wind can easily carry the poisonous tentacles of physalia along the coast. This phenomenon is called “purple rain”.

If you are bitten, consult a doctor immediately.

Special and very a kind of group The Hydroid class forms a subclass of Siphonophores. This word denotes 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, the Portuguese man-of-war siphonophora.
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 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 direction, sometimes even in reverse direction.
Similar coordinated maneuvers carried out simultaneously big amount siphonophores, reminiscent of 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. These were the bright colorful sails that were on the masts of the ships of the medieval mistress of the seas, Portugal.
Observations of physalia have shown 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, the remaining individuals are located in a certain order.
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 the 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 death. Even individuals washed ashore continue to remain 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 a similar lifestyle. 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 components sea ​​plankton organisms.
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 is moved by the wind, it feels like it is floating huge flock animals.
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.
An amazing feature of the biology of sailfish 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 swallowtail is the predatory yantina snail. 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, such as the nudibranch molluscs aeolis and glaucus, are also not averse to profiting from the sailfish.
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 simply do not 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.

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 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 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. 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 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 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. 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 by 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 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 them 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 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.

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

Portuguese man-of-war, physalia, bluebottle jellyfish are the most famous names this jellyfish. Lives in warm waters (Florida, Cuba, Mediterranean Sea, 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).
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 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 tentacles of the "Portuguese man-of-war" can reach 50 meters, and contact with them is dangerous 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 Man of Man of Portugal poison with fresh water, as this 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 it 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.