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Portuguese Man-Of-War

Hello People. How are you today? I hope you are well. I am exhausted. I feel as if mentally (or spiritually or emotionally I am not sure which. Maybe all.) I am running a race. I have been running for a good while, and I am growing tired, but physically I have not left the starting line. I am just going to point out, this isn't a pleasant feeling. Just makes you want to groan and roll over in bed before going back to sleep. I've kind of realized that I am a boring person. lol. My friends all like the same stuff it seems, hiking, fishing, things outside etc. Those are their hobbies. I write. I dance. I love learning. Now let's be honest with ourselves, what sounds more exciting? Sitting with a notepad in hand or walking through the chilly pre-dawn air through the woods to a tree stand, lugging a gun up a tree and waiting silently for dinner to make its appearance?
Both. BTW I could have made the hunting experience way more exciting if I had used more words to describe it. In that aspect, I am not boring I guess. Who knows.
Today I do not know exactly what to talk about, so we will go with the philosophy I made up at like 6:45 this morning.
When in doubt, learn something.
My friend caught a Portuguese Man of War. My favorite jelly like creature that isn't actually a jellyfish.
 Isn't it just gorgeous?
{Yeah, but what is it if it isn't a jellyfish?}
I will tell you. According to National Geographic (I just looked it up. I read a lot about these when I was like ten, that was a while ago.) it is actually four groups of organisms called Polyps working together to from one body. It gets its name from the first group of polyps, the pneumatophores which look like an old time war ship with sails hoisted high. This gas-filled bubble floats on top of the water. (That is weak. I want to know what it DOES.) ALL RIGHT. I was correct, it does control at what depth the Man-of War will be submerged, although it will only go completely beneath the surface to avoid danger or avoid drying out.
The next polyp is everyone's favorite, the dactilozooids. These are the tentacles. They can get up to 50 feet long!!!  They are blue or purple (Like the entire creature, really, should I be pointing that out?) There are apparently two types of nemotocysts, or stingers, small and big for stunning and killing food. Nemotocysts are unique to phylum Cnidaria. Just so you know.
Third group is the gonozooids for reproduction. I will get into that later probably.
Fourth is the gastrozooids. For eating. This is when we ask What do they eat?
The Man-of-War eats...mostly larvae of fish and such. They do not swim around so they have an interesting way of hunting. They stretch their tentacles to full length like a net and wait for their prey to swim in. They might have stingers that only affect soft creatures. I thought that was interesting.  They eat about 120 organisms in a day (based on a study in the early 2000s) and then liquify them with digestive enzymes. Pretty cool, yes?
I want to know how they reproduce. You might be wondering where they live though. Here is your answer. Mostly warm waters. They are blown around at the mercy of the wind and sea.
I just learned the neatest thing. Each Man-of-War is either left or right sided. Which means that it's float is angled so that it either floats 45 degrees to the left or to the right of the wind. This minor detail keeps the creatures from all inhabiting the same area and helps them to spread throughout the oceans. THAT IS GENIUS, DUDE.
Like seriously, how long do you think it took us to notice this? Does it not just say "I have been designed but One who enjoys minor details."? Never in a million years would I think to give it an angle for that reason.
Okay, reproduction. I just gotta know.
This is very boring. The Man-of-War is either male or female, it makes produces gametes in the fall and lets them go. The eggs of one meets the sperm of another and creates a new colony.
What predators does this creature have? Certain turtles and crabs and mollusks. Also parasites. Sometimes sea turtles mistake plastic bags for a Man-Of-War and eat them. Then they die. Don't litter, People, my sister likes the turtles.
That will be all for today. I hope you all feel smarter.
Oh wait, one more very important thing.  The sting is very painful but rarely deadly to humans, but only the tentacles can sting you. The Man-Of-War can still sting after it is dead and sometimes the get blown ashore or pulled ashore by crabs. Watch where you step, etc etc. I think that's all... Have a nice day, People, I hope you enjoyed. Your comments, or thoughts or anything is welcome.

Comments

  1. So the picture I took of the Manof war literally took me 30 minutes to take. I think that is the longest time I ever taken to take one picture. Lol


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  2. Yas fearless leader! I didn't even see that there was something in the jar until cowgirl pointed it out ��

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  3. Thank you, I never knew so much about these jelly like creatures!

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