Portuguese man o` war on Pompano Beach, FL, at dawn

Courtesy Wikipedia: The Portuguese man o` war Physalia physalis, also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is the only species in the genus Physalia, which in turn is the only genus in the family Physaliidae. The Portuguese man o` war is a conspicuous member of the neuston, the community of organisms that live at the ocean surface. It has numerous venomous microscopic nematocysts which deliver a painful sting powerful enough to kill fish, and has been known to occasionally kill humans. Although it superficially resembles a jellyfish, the Portuguese man o` war is in fact a siphonophore. Like all siphonophores, it is a colonial organism, made up of many smaller units called zooids. All zooids in a colony are genetically identical, but fulfill specialized functions such as feeding and reproduction, and together allow the colony to operate as a single individual.

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