Portuguese man o' war: Difference between revisions
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==Poison== |
==Poison== |
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Thier sting can kill you dead. |
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The sting from the tentacles is potentially dangerous to most [[human]]s; these stings have been responsible for several deaths, but usually only cause excruciating pain. Detached tentacles and specimens washed up on shore can sting just as painfully as the full creature in the water, for weeks after detachment. The venom can travel up to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, more intense pain. In extreme cases medical attention is necessary. |
The sting from the tentacles is potentially dangerous to most [[human]]s; these stings have been responsible for several deaths, but usually only cause excruciating pain. Detached tentacles and specimens washed up on shore can sting just as painfully as the full creature in the water, for weeks after detachment. The venom can travel up to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, more intense pain. In extreme cases medical attention is necessary. |
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Revision as of 18:18, 12 December 2006
| Portuguese Man O' War | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | Physaliidae
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| Genus: | Physalia
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| Species: | P. physalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Physalia physalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
| |
The Portuguese Man O' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the bluebubble or bluebottle, is commonly thought of as a jellyfish but is actually a siphonophore—a colony of four sorts of polyps.
A similar group of animals are the chondrophores.
Structure
The Man Of War's float is bilaterally symmetrical with the tentacles at one end, while the chondrophores are radially symmetrical with the sail at an angle. Also the Man O' War has a siphon, while the chondrophores do not.
The Portuguese Man O' War has an air bladder; known also as a pneumatophore or sail, that allows it to float on the surface of the ocean. It has no means of propulsion and is pushed by the winds and the current. The sail is filled with air, but may build up a high concentration of carbon dioxide (up to 90%). The bladder must stay wet to ensure survival; every so often it may roll slightly to wet the surface of the float. To escape a surface attack, the pneumatophore can be deflated allowing the Man O' War to briefly submerge.
Below the main body dangle long tentacles, sometimes reaching 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is the average. They sting and kill small sea creatures using poison-filled nematocysts and use muscles to draw the prey in to the gastrozooids, which are yet another different type of polyp that surround and digest it. Gonozooids are responsible for reproduction.
Ecology
The man-of-war fish, whose name is derived from the Portuguese Man O' War, often lives within the man o' war's tentacles for protection. Like the man o' war, the nudibranch glaucus atlanticus or blue sea slug, uses a gas filled sac to stay afloat and, being immune to its poison, preys on it and other neustons.
Portuguese Man O' War are a very important source of food to sea turtles, which are immune to the poison. Sea slugs and sea snails floating on the water are also immune to the poison. The Portuguese Man O' War can be found on the coast of Africa, North America, Europe and Australia as well as in other areas of the world. Recently, the Man O' War has been found as far north as the town of Harwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.[1]
Poison
The sting from the tentacles is potentially dangerous to most humans; these stings have been responsible for several deaths, but usually only cause excruciating pain. Detached tentacles and specimens washed up on shore can sting just as painfully as the full creature in the water, for weeks after detachment. The venom can travel up to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, more intense pain. In extreme cases medical attention is necessary.
According to a study done by Dr. Geoffrey Isbister of Newcastle, Australia's Mater Hospital in 2003 through 2005, the best treatment for a sting is to apply hot water to the affected area. Hot water used in the study was fixed at 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). The hot water eases the pain of a sting by degrading the toxins.[2]
Applying ice to the area of the sting is also a fairly effective way to suppress the pain. Ice works by making the toxins less active and reduces the sensation and therefore pain of the area of skin around the ice. Additionally, ice constricts blood vessels, reducing the speed at which the poison travels to other parts of the body, including the brain; heat has an opposite effect. It was originally thought that applying ice was the best way of dealing with Man o' War stings before the study was done. Lifesavers around the world still use ice to treat the stings of this species.
Ointments that are specifically designed to treat Man o' War stings seem to have little effect.[citation needed]
The use of vinegar to treat stings is controversial. It appears that vinegar can make the sting more painful in some cases, while other victims report relief after applying vinegar. One should never apply vinegar while the tentacle is still attached to the body, as this will cause the stinging cells to inject more venom.
It is often confused with a jellyfish, which is incorrect and may lead to improper treatment of stings, as the poison is different. A second sting may lead to an allergic reaction.
Origin of the name
The Man O' War is named for its air bladder, which looks similar to a man of war under sail[3][4], namely a Portuguese Caravel.
Trivia
- Wrestler Aldo Montoya was nicknamed "The Portuguese Man-O'-War".
- In the book Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville, men o' war are gigantic flying jellyfish capable of supporting riders.
- In the book "Stormbreaker", the antagonist Herod Sayle owns an enormous Portugese Man O' War, which he uses as a deathtrap much later in the book. In the movie adaptation, however, the "Portugeuese Man o' War" bore no resemblance to the actual Man O' War, and had the ability to dematerialize full skeletons not possessed by the actual creature.
Footnotes
- ^ "Man-Of-War Stings 12-Year-Old In Harwich". CBS4 Boston. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Loten C, Stokes B, Worsley D, Seymour J, Jiang S, Isbistergk G (2006). "A randomised controlled trial of hot water (45 degrees C) immersion versus ice packs for pain relief in bluebottle stings". Med J Aust. 184 (7): 329–33. PMID 16584366.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Online Entomolgy Dictionary: man-of-war". Douglas Harper.
- ^ "Blue Bottle Jellyfish (Portuguese Man of War) (Physalia utriculus)". AustralianFauna.com.