Portuguese Man of War

Portuguese man of war is also known as Physalia. The Portuguese man of war is present in phylum Cnidaria. Physalia is a marine aquatic animal found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is believed to be the same species as the Pacific Man-of-War found primarily in the Pacific Ocean. The Portuguese man of war is the only species in the genus Physalia, which in turn is the only genus in the family Physaliidae. It has many tiny and poisonous barbed wire sacs, and its stinger is sufficient to kill fish and occasionally humans. Although he looks like a jellyfish on the surface, the Portuguese man of war is actually a siphon. Like all siphons, it is a social creature, made up of many smaller units called zooids. All humanoids in a group are genetically the same, but they all have special functions, such as feeding and reproduction, and collectively allow the group to function as an individual. 

Habitat of Physalia

It is mainly found in tropical and subtropical waters. Portuguese man of war lives on the surface of the ocean. The gas-filled bladder or trachea remains on the surface, while the rest is submerged. The Portuguese fighters had no thrusters and could only move passively, driven by wind, currents, and tides. Strong winds can bring them to the bay or beach. After searching for a Portuguese warship, many other warships are usually found nearby. Because they sting when they are stranded, it is discovered that a warship stranded on the beach will cause the beach to close. 

Anatomy of Portuguese Man of War

Like all siphons, Portuguese warships are colonies. Each species is composed of many smaller units, which are suspended in groups under large inflatable structures called trachea. As the colony grows, new zooids are added through germination. Up to seven different animals have been described in human warfare. Three types of medusoids are the genitalia, nectophores, and residual nectophores and four types of polyps are free-stomach animals, tentacles, gonozooids, and gonopalpons. Pneumatophore, or bladder, is the most prominent part of the war. It is translucent, slightly blue, purple, pink, or lavender in color. The pneumatophore is a floating device and the sail of a colony, allowing the colony to move with the prevailing wind. The gas in the trachea is partly carbon monoxide that is actively produced by animals and partly atmospheric gas nitrogen, oxygen, and rare gases that diffuse from the air surrounding. In the event of a surface attack, the trachea can deflate, temporarily submerging the colony. The colony feeds and feeds through the cooperation of two animals: stomach animals and tentacled animals called fingers or tentacles. Finger-shaped animals are equipped with tentacles, usually, about 10 meters long, but can reach over 30 meters. Each tentacle has a tiny, coiled linear structure called a barbed wire capsule. The barbed wire sac will shoot and inject venom when it touches, stings paralyzes and kills adult or juvenile squid and fish. The contraction of the tentacles drags the prey up in the range of gastric animals, digestive animals. Stomach-shaped animals surround and digest food by secreting enzymes. The main reproductive animal, the genitalia, is found in a branching structure called the genitalia. Germ cells produce sperm or eggs. In addition to genitalia, each genitalia also contains several other types of specialized animal genitalia that is attached to the stomach of animals, glands, and residual glands. 

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Colonies of Portuguese Man of War

The Portuguese man of war is described as a colony creature because individual animals in the colony evolved from polyps or jellyfish, the two basic body plans of cnidarians. Both body plans include entire individuals of decolonized cnidarian, like jellyfish, are medusa and sea anemones are polyps. All the animals in the war developed from the same fertilized egg, so they are genetically identical, they maintain physical contact throughout their lives, essentially functioning as organs in a shared body. Therefore, from an ecological point of view, the Portuguese war constitutes a single individual, but from an embryological point of view, it is composed of many individuals. 

Symmetry 

The shape of the Portuguese man of war is somewhat asymmetric. The animal bodies of the group are not completely suspended on the midline of the trachea, but moved to the right or left of the midline. When combined with the drag action of the tentacle which functions as a sea anchor, this left or right turn will cause the colony to sail sideways to the wind, approximately 45° in either direction. Therefore, in theory, colonial manipulation will affect the movement of war personnel, and left-handed or right-handed colonies are more likely to drift along specific corresponding sea lanes. Although it was previously thought to have formed due to the influence of wind, it actually appeared in the early days of colonial life while still living below the sea surface. 

Life Cycle 

Portuguese man of war individuals is dioecious, which means that each group is either male or female. The germ cells that produce sperm or eggs, depending on the sex of the population are located in a tree structure called the gonads and are believed to be shed from the population during reproduction. Mating occurs mainly in autumn when eggs and sperm fall off the genitals into the water. Since neither fertilization nor early development is directly observed in nature, it is not clear how deep they occur. A fertilized Portuguese egg develops into a larva, which hatches out of new eggs as it grows, and gradually forms a new colony. This development first occurred underwater and was reconstructed by comparing different stages of larvae collected from the sea. The first two structures that appeared were the trachea and the early feeding animals called protozoa, after that, celestial animals and animals with tentacles were added. Over time, the growing alveoli become buoyant enough to bring immature colonies to the surface. 

Poison 

This species causes up to 10,000 human bites in Australia every summer, especially on the east coast, and some occur near the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia. Venom-filled barbed wire sacs on the tentacles of Portuguese warships can paralyze small fish and other prey. The separated tentacles and dead specimens including those that reach the shore can sting painfully like living organisms in the water and can remain effective for hours or even days after the organisms die or fall off. Stings usually cause severe pain in humans. After the first sting, a whip-like red mass is usually left on the skin, which usually lasts for 2 to 3 days, although the pain can range from about 1 to 3 subsides after hours depending on the person who was stung. However, the venom can spread to the lymph nodes and cause symptoms that mimic allergic reactions, such as swelling of the throat, airway obstruction, heart problems, and inability to breathe. Other symptoms may include fever and shock, and even death in some extreme cases, although this is extremely rare. If the pain becomes unbearable or lasts for more than three hours, or if it is difficult to breathe, it may be necessary to provide medical care to people who are exposed to a large number of tentacles to relieve the pain or open the airway. Cases where the bite completely surrounds the torso of a young child can be fatal. 

Treatment of Sting

The stinger from the Portuguese man of war is usually very painful. They can cause severe dermatitis and are characterized by long, thin open wounds, similar to those caused by whips. These are not caused by any impact or cutting action, but by the irritating urticaria substance on the tentacles. Flushing the affected area with seawater helps to remove the tentacles attached to the wound area. It is generally believed that a solution of acetic acid or ammonia can inactivate the remaining spinal sacs and usually relieve pain, although individual studies have shown that vinegar may increase blood pressure in some people. Release toxins and aggravate symptoms. It has been reported that vinegar can cause bleeding when used on lighter bites of smaller types of cnidarian cells. The current treatment recommended by the Australian study is to avoid the use of vinegar, as local studies have shown that it can exacerbate symptoms. After soaking in ammonia water, apply shaving cream to the wound for 30 seconds, then shave the area with a razor, and rinse the razor thoroughly between strokes. This will remove the remaining barbed wire capsule without firing. Heat can be applied in the form of hot salt water or hot compress-heat will accelerate the decomposition of toxins already on the skin. Hydrocortisone cream can also be used. 

Predators and Prey 

The Portuguese man of war is a carnivore in nature. The organism uses its poisonous tentacles to trap and paralyze its prey while dragging it towards digestive polyps. It usually feeds on small marine organisms, such as fish and plankton, and sometimes shrimp. The organism has almost no predators of its own; one example is the loggerhead turtle, which feeds on Portuguese battleships as a common part of its diet. The skin of the tortoise, including the skin of the tongue and throat, is too thick for the bite to penetrate. In addition, the blue sea slug Glaucus atlanticus specializes in preying on Portuguese war figures, as does the purple snail Janthina. The diet of sunfish, previously thought to consist mainly of jellyfish, has now been found to include many species. Manta rays are immune to the poison of the Portuguese man of war juveniles have been observed to carry broken warrior tentacles, males and immature females tear off the tentacles for offensive and defensive purposes. 

Symbiosis 

A small fish, Nomeus gronovii, is partially immune to the venom of stinging cells and can live between tentacles of Portuguese man of war. It seems to avoid the larger, more stinging tentacles, but it feeds on the smaller tentacles below the air sacs. The Portuguese man of war is often encountered by various other marine fish, including horse mackerel. All these fish benefit from the refuge from predators provided by the spiny tentacles, but for the Portuguese, the presence of these species can attract other fish to eat.