Drifting man o’ war are washed up along coast
PORTUGUESE man o’ war have been spotted washed up along the coast of Cornwall, following strong winds.
Locals have shared pictures of the beautiful, yet potentially dangerous, sea creatures, which are commonly mistaken for jellyfish.
The Portuguese man o’ war, also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Their venom is used to paralyse and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is said to be excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly.
A number were found on Wednesday by Friends of
Portheras Cove, a conservation group based on the edge of West Cornwall, between Morvah and Pendeen. Often they can wash up in their hundreds, or even thousands.
The group shared details on Facebook saying that eleven of the creatures had washed up in Portheras Cove. It wrote: “Portuguese-man o’ war in the cove this morning brought in by some onshore gusts. These regular visitors are a type of Hydrozoan (not a jellyfish but a close relative) and are beautiful, fascinating, and dangerous creatures living their lives on top of the waves.
“They float at the mercy of tides and winds with their blue tentacles stretching out for meters in the sea below them. Water users, and beachgoers please be aware these can still sting even when stranded on the sands. Do not touch. The neurotoxin they can inject can cause severe problems especially around the eyes and airways. These amazing creatures are best admired from a distance. Keep dogs away too.”
The Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Strandings Network regularly issues warnings over the creatures which are often brought in by strong gusts of wind. It has previously explained: “The distinctive purple gas-filled float, the pneumatophore, acts as a sail which helps to float the rest of the colony across the surface of the water.
“The tentacles can hang down for several meters, secreting digestive juices onto prey which has been caught and immobilised by the debilitating sting delivered from the specialised stinging cells.”