They are fragile and difficult to collect intact, and must be collected by submersible, remotely operated vehicle, by hand while blue-water diving, or in regions with localized upwellings. Most species are planktonic and are found at most depths from the deep sea to the surface of the ocean. Colonies are composed of functionally specialized bodies (termed zooids) that are homologous to free living individuals. Siphonophores are a relatively understudied group of colonial hydrozoans. physalis is very different from all other siphonophores. The development, morphology, and colony organization of P. This sailing ability, combined with a painful sting and a life cycle with seasonal blooms, results in periodic mass beach strandings and occasional human envenomations, making P. The Portuguese man o' war is aptly named after a warship: it uses part of an enlarged float filled with carbon monoxide and air as a sail to travel by wind for thousands of miles, dragging behind long tentacles that deliver a deadly venomous sting to fish. Despite their tolerance for extreme environmental conditions and the very large size of this habitat, which makes up 71% of the Earth's surface and is nearly three times the area of all terrestrial habitats, very little is known about the organisms that make up this highly specialized polyphyletic community. This community is exposed to a unique set of environmental conditions including prolonged exposure to intense ultraviolet light, desiccation risk, and rough sea and wave conditions. The neuston is the floating community of ocean organisms that live at the interface between water and air. The siphonophore Physalia physalis, commonly known as the Portuguese man o' war, is one of the most conspicuous, but poorly understood, members of the neuston. 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. Like all siphonophores, it is a colonial organism, made up of many smaller units called zooids. Although it superficially resembles a jellyfish, the Portuguese man o' war is in fact a siphonophore. It has numerous venomous microscopic nematocysts which deliver a painful sting powerful enough to kill fish, and has been known to occasionally kill humans. The Portuguese man o' war is a conspicuous member of the neuston, the community of organisms that live at the ocean surface. The Portuguese man o' war is the only species in the genus Physalia, which in turn is the only genus in the family Physaliidae. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or bluebottle, which is found mainly in the Pacific Ocean. The Portuguese man o' war ( Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war or bluebottle, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. This article is about the marine invertebrate found in the Atlantic.
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