page_title: Portuguese man o' war
section_title: Predators and prey
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese man o' war / Predators and prey
caption_attribution_description: English: Physalia physalis found on a beach in the Tayrona national park, Colombia.
context_page_description: The Portuguese man o' war, also known as the man-of-war, blue bottle, or floating terror is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Physalia is the only genus in the family Physaliidae, Physalia is monospecific with Physalia physalis as the only species in the genus. Long tentacles have numerous venomous microscopic nematocysts which deliver a painful sting powerful enough to kill fish and even occasionally humans. Despite its appearance, the Portuguese man o' war differs from most animals called jellyfish, which are single organisms. The Portuguese man o' war is classified as a siphonophore, a colonial organism made up of many specialized, though genetically distinct, parts called zooids. These zooids are attached to one another and are physiologically integrated to such an extent that they cannot survive independently. The assemblage of zooids works together to function as an individual animal. Zooids should not be confused with zooplankton.
context_section_description: The Portuguese man o' war is a carnivore. Using its venomous tentacles, a man o' war traps and paralyzes its prey while "reeling" it inwards to the digestive polyps. It typically feeds on small marine organisms, such as fish and plankton. 
  The organism has few predators of its own; one example is the loggerhead turtle, which feeds on the Portuguese man o' war as a common part of its diet. The turtle's skin, including that of its tongue and throat, is too thick for the stings to penetrate.
  The blue sea slug Glaucus atlanticus specializes in feeding on the Portuguese man o' war, as does the violet snail Janthina janthina.
  The blanket octopus is immune to the venom of the Portuguese man o' war; young individuals carry broken man o' war tentacles, presumably for offensive and/or defensive purposes.
  The ocean sunfish's diet, once thought to consist mainly of jellyfish, has been found to include many species, the Portuguese man o' war being one-such example.
caption: Portuguese man o' war in Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombia
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