---
title: "What the sources say about the Portuguese Man o' War | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "61 claims from the Portuguese Man o' War profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/portuguese-man-o-war-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/portuguese-man-o-war/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Portuguese Man o' War (*Physalia physalis*)

> 61 claims from the Portuguese Man o' War profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Portuguese Man o' War](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/portuguese-man-o-war/)

## Physalia physalis (Portuguese man-of-war). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Physalia_physalis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List Not Evaluated (note: ADW's account is dated (last updated 2002-10-17). The status is current: GBIF's copy of the Red List returns NOT_EVALUATED for Physalia physalis (Linnaeus, 1758), usage key 2264734, checked 2026-09-12, and the prefetch found no assessment DOI.) |
| shrimp and other crustaceans | The Portuguese Man-of-War traps its food in its tentacles. It feeds mainly on fish fry (young fish) and small adult fish, and it also consumes shrimp, other crustaceans |
| Left-handed colonies drift to the right of the wind and right-handed ones to the left | The "left-sided" individual drifts at an angle of 45 degrees to the right of the direction from which the wind is blowing, and the "right-sided" individual does the opposite (note: ADW's wording, scoped to Physalia physalis; replaces Lee et al.'s sentence, which is about the Australian bluebottle. ADW's 45 degrees is not repeated on the page; the modeled 51.5 degrees below is.) |

## What is a Portuguese Man o' War? National Ocean Service, NOAA.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/portuguese-man-o-war.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mostly tropical and subtropical seas | Found mostly in tropical and subtropical seas |
| A colony of clones working together as one | a colony of specialized, genetically identical individuals called zooids - clones - with various forms and functions, all working together as one |
| four specialized parts for floating, capturing prey, feeding, and reproduction | Each of the four specialized parts of a man o’ war is responsible for a specific task, such as floating, capturing prey, feeding, and reproduction |
| The Portuguese man o' war looks like a single balloon-topped jellyfish | is often called a jellyfish ... the man o' war is recognized by its balloon-like float |
| a colony of specialized, genetically identical individuals called zooids | comprised of a colony of specialized, genetically identical individuals called zooids - clones |
| Its four specialized parts | Each of the four specialized parts of a man o’ war is responsible for a specific task |
| microscopic stinging capsules called nematocysts | The tentacles contain stinging nematocysts, microscopic capsules |
| Painful, but rarely deadly | While the man o' war's sting is rarely deadly to people, it packs a painful punch (note: NOAA's page was last updated 2024-06-16. The FAQ's ref stays fatal-1989, which states the answer's key figure (second recorded fatality).) |
| for a colony with no engine of its own: it is propelled by winds and ocean currents alone | men o' war are propelled by winds and ocean currents alone (note: vibe.reason; replaces 'venomous open-ocean dread', which was mood only (#176)) |

## The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis). Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/The%20Portuguese%20man.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| neurotoxic tentacles, and ocean surface drifter | It drifts along on the surface (aided by the large float) ... these stinging cells, which contain a powerful neurotoxin |
| drifting on the surface of the open ocean | The man-of-war is adapted to live its life entirely in the open ocean. It drifts along on the surface |
| It isn't one animal at all | the man-of-war is not a single animal |
| tentacles that hunt | the defensive/prey capturing tentacles (dactylozooids) and the reproductive polyps (gonozooids) |
| The float, tentacles, digestive polyps, and reproductive polyps are so specialized that they cannot live without each other | polyps (or zooids) that are so specialized that they cannot live without each other |
| The float can be up to 15 centimeters above the water | The float can be up to 15 cm above the water |
| Fishing As It Drifts | As the colony drifts, the man-of-war is constantly ‘fishing’ for food with its tentacles |
| As the colony drifts, its tentacles trail behind it like fishing lines | As the colony drifts, the man-of-war is constantly ‘fishing’ for food with its tentacles |
| covering much of their surface | The food is trapped in the tentacles (dactylozooids) with the aid of specialized stinging capsules called nematocysts that cover much of the surface area |
| its float leaning one way or the other | their floats either lean to the left or right |
| Because the two forms drift in different directions | their floats either lean to the left or right, ensuring that they will drift in different directions |
| when strong winds blow man o' war into shallow coastal waters, half are blown away from shore, where they are more likely to survive | This also helps when strong winds blow man-of-wars into shallow coastal waters, as half will be blown away from shore and are more likely to survive |
| Their floats either lean to the left or to the right, and colonies drift in different directions and spread themselves out more evenly over the ocean. | their floats either lean to the left or right, ensuring that they will drift in different directions and spread themselves out more evenly over the ocean |
| When strong winds blow them toward the coast, half will be blown away from shore and are more likely to survive | when strong winds blow man-of-wars into shallow coastal waters, as half will be blown away from shore and are more likely to survive |

## Portuguese Man o' War. Oceana.

https://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/portuguese-man-o-war

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A Colony Wearing a Jellyfish Costume | The Portuguese man o’ war may look like a jellyfish, but it’s not! This unique creature is actually a siphonophore, a colonial organism |
| The hunting tentacles can extend up to 30 meters, nearly 100 feet | its long, trailing tentacles can extend up to 30 meters (nearly 100 feet) |
| Enemies That Steal Its Weapons | some species, like the blue glaucus, are immune to its sting and even feed on tentacles to steal the toxins for their own defense |
| The blue glaucus, a sea slug, eats its tentacles | some species, like the blue glaucus, are immune to its sting and even feed on tentacles |
| Each Portuguese man o' war is a colony composed of four types of specialized polyps, each with a unique role: floating, feeding, capturing prey, and reproduction | each Portuguese man o’ war is a colony composed of four types of specialized polyps, each with a unique role: floating, feeding, capturing prey, and reproduction |
| Below the surface, its long, trailing tentacles can extend up to 30 meters, nearly 100 feet, and deliver a toxin that can paralyze and kill prey such as fish and shrimp | Below the surface, its long, trailing tentacles can extend up to 30 meters (nearly 100 feet), which can deliver a toxin that can paralyze and kill prey such as fish, shrimp, and other small animals |
| trailing stinging tentacles up to 30 meters long | its long, trailing tentacles can extend up to 30 meters (nearly 100 feet) (note: vibe.reason; same figure as the body) |

## Munro et al. (2019). Morphology and development of the Portuguese man of war, Physalia physalis. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51842-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Colonial siphonophore sail | Physalia physalis is a siphonophore that uses a gas-filled float as a sail to catch the wind |
| up to thirty-meter neurotoxic tentacles | The tentacles of the Portuguese man of war can reach up to 30 m in mature colonies ... The nematocyst delivers a toxin that results in paralysis in fish ... affecting the nervous system and respiratory centers |
| Fish and fish larvae, which make up 70 to 90 percent of its diet | Fish and fish larvae comprise 70–90% of their diet |
| a gas-filled float, the pneumatophore, that catches the wind | Physalia physalis is a siphonophore that uses a gas-filled float as a sail to catch the wind |
| digestive polyps that feed the whole colony | The digested food products are released into the main gastric cavity for uptake by the rest of the colony |
| They carry a single type of nematocyst, able to penetrate only soft-bodied prey | the nematocyst batteries on the tentacles of Physalia physalis contain a single type of nematocyst that is only able to penetrate soft bodied prey |
| Injected into fish muscle, an extract of the toxin causes general paralysis, hitting the nervous system and the centers that control breathing, and at high doses it kills | Injection of crude extract of the toxin into fish muscle leads to general paralysis, affecting the nervous system and respiratory centers, and results in death at high doses |
| Fish and fish larvae make up 70 to 90 percent of the colony's diet | Fish and fish larvae comprise 70–90% of their diet |
| Once prey is snared and hauled up toward the float, the digestive polyps take over | Once a tentacle comes into contact with its prey, the prey is carried up towards the gastrozooids near the base of the float. The gastrozooids respond immediately to the capture of prey |
| researchers have watched upward of 50 of them completely cover a 10-centimeter fish, their mouths spread out across its surface | Many gastrozooids attach themselves to the prey – upwards of 50 gastrozooids have been observed to completely cover a 10 cm fish with their mouths spread out across the surface of the fish |
| Left-Handed and Right-Handed Sailors | colonies are either left-handed or right-handed |
| The float is a sail | Physalia physalis is a siphonophore that uses a gas-filled float as a sail to catch the wind |
| Every colony is either "left-handed" or "right-handed," | there are very clear left-right asymmetries in the placement and growth of zooids in this species, and colonies are either left-handed or right-handed |
| Being a raft of stinging cells doesn't make the man o' war untouchable | While P. physalis is a voracious predator of fish, it is predated upon by sea turtles |
| Sea turtles eat it | it is predated upon by sea turtles |
| stores the stinging capsules intact, and redeploys them in its own defense | Glaucus atlanticus and Glaucus marginatus, species of nudibranch that store intact Physalia nematocysts and redeploy them for their own defense |
| Young Tremoctopus violaceus octopuses carry man o' war tentacles along the rows of suckers on their upper arms, and the tentacles are thought to help them both fend off attackers and catch prey | immature Tremoctopus violaceus octopods have been found to carry P. physalis tentacles along the rows of suckers of their dorsal arms, and the tentacles are suggested to play a role in defense as well as prey capture |
| In 2019 there was only one recognized species of Physalia, the man o' war genus | there is currently only one recognized species of Physalia – P. physalis (note: The year (2019) comes from the reference's own year metadata. Stated in the past tense and dated, because the 2025 genomics paper supersedes it.) |
| catching the wind on a gas-filled float | Physalia physalis is a siphonophore that uses a gas-filled float as a sail to catch the wind (note: vibe.reason) |

## Lee, Schaeffer & Groeskamp (2021). Drifting dynamics of the bluebottle (Physalia physalis). Ocean Science.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1341-2021

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| is around 15 centimeters in size, with some reported at up to 30 centimeters | The Atlantic Portuguese man o' war (PMW) is considered the same species as the bluebottle ... the PMW has floats of around 15 cm, reported up to 30 cm |
| In a 2021 model with no current, a left-handed Atlantic man o' war would drift 51.5 degrees clockwise from the wind | at an angle of attack of 40 ∘ and no current, a left-handed bluebottle will drift at an angle of 52.9 ∘ clockwise from the wind at 2.66 % of the wind speed. A PMW in the same conditions will drift at an angle of 51.5 ∘ clockwise from the wind (note: The year (2021) comes from the reference's own year metadata. PMW is the paper's Atlantic Portuguese man o' war ('The Atlantic Portuguese man o' war (PMW) is considered the same species as the bluebottle'), and 'the same conditions' are left-handed, a 40 degree angle of attack and no current.) |

## Tamkun & Hessinger (1981). Isolation and partial characterization of a hemolytic and toxic protein from the nematocyst venom of the Portuguese man-of-war, Physalia physalis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Protein Structure.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-2795(81)90069-6

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Physalitoxin, one of several proteins in the venom, appears to be responsible for both its hemolytic (blood-cell-bursting) and lethal activities | possess a potent venom composed of several proteins. A hemolytic protein lethal to mice has been isolated from this nematocyst venom. This protein, physalitoxin, appears to be responsible for both the venom's hemolytic and lethal activities. |
| it proved lethal to mice in lab tests | A hemolytic protein lethal to mice has been isolated from this nematocyst venom. |

## Edwards, Whitter & Hessinger (2002). Apparent membrane pore-formation by portuguese Man-of-war (Physalia physalis) venom in intact cultured cells. Toxicon.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0041-0101(02)00138-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A venom that pops cells like balloons | venom produces pore-like structures in the membranes of target cells, which leads to colloid osmotic swelling with subsequent release of intracellular proteins and cell lysis |
| In cultured cells, low doses make calcium build up inside | low doses of Portuguese Man-of-war (Physalia physalis) venom cause a linear increase in intracellular calcium accumulation by cultured L-929 cells |
| the results imply the venom produces pore-like structures in cell membranes, which make the cells swell and then burst | These results imply that Man-of-war venom produces pore-like structures in the membranes of target cells, which leads to colloid osmotic swelling with subsequent release of intracellular proteins and cell lysis |

## Burnett & Gable (1989). A fatal jellyfish envenomation by the Portuguese man-o'war. Toxicon.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-0101(89)90050-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A fatal case reported in 1989 was only the second scientifically recorded human death from a man o' war sting, and several similar cases had been suspected | The documented case of a human fatality resulting from envenomation by Physalia physalis is presented. Although this case is only the second scientifically recorded fatality, several similar cases have been suspected. (note: The year (1989) comes from the reference's own year metadata. The count is dated to the report and not stated as current. This is the page text stats.dangerLevel: Deadly rests on (#176): tiers are capabilities, and the source documents a human death, so Deadly rather than Extreme ("Severe injury likely on contact"), which NOAA's "rarely deadly" contradicts in the other direction.) |

## Church et al. (2025). Population genomics of a sailing siphonophore reveals genetic structure in the open ocean. Current Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.066

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a 2025 study of whole genomes concluded there are at least four, each split into regional subpopulations that line up with the prevailing currents and winds | sequencing whole genomes of 151 samples ... We conclude there are at least four species ... Within each species, we observe significant population structure, with evidence of persistent subpopulations at a regional scale ... these subpopulations align with predominant currents and winds (note: The year (2025) comes from the reference's own year metadata. The abstract names Physalia minuta as the new species but does not say which lineage keeps the name P. physalis or where each lives, so the page assigns no range to any of the four.) |