And finally, about poisonous hydroids - physalia who received for their appearance Name " portuguese boat". This animal belongs to the lower intestinal cavities, which have a highly developed poisonous apparatus for attack and defense. They live in the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. Animals easily stay in the water due to the gas-filled swim bladder, which serves as a hydrostatic apparatus for the physalia.

Physalia (Physalia physalis) - poisonous jellyfish living in tropical waters

In some physalia, the swim bladder protrudes above the surface of the water, acting as a sail. From the hydrostatic apparatus (pneumatophore), a special trunk goes down, to which the remaining individuals of the colony are attached, their number can reach several hundred. In short, physalia are not a separate organism. Physalia belong to the colonial forms. Numerous tentacles of physalia are equipped with huge amount stinging cells containing a poisonous secret. The tentacles are almost colorless, they merge with sea ​​water and difficult to see for swimmers.

Numerous tentacles of physalia are equipped with special stinging cells called nooses. Inside the cells is a poisonous liquid. This poison is necessary for the jellyfish in order to kill the fish that the physalia feeds on. If you collect pieces of tentacles containing nooses with poison into a thimble and inject them under the skin, they will die in a few seconds. For a thousand mice, just one thimble is enough.


« portuguese boat " can be found in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and species of physalia close to it live in southern shores Japan and Hawaiian Islands. On the surface of the water, this animal is very beautiful. The upper part of it is brightly colored and vaguely resembles the colors of the old Portuguese sailboats, hence the name of this animal. If you look closely at the physalia, which rises about 30 cm in length above the sea surface, you can see how it shimmers with blue, violet and purple colors due to the reflection of sunlight from its faces. Sometimes you can observe the accumulation of physalia in coastal waters. Perhaps this is because during this period of life the animal can find here much large quantity food. However, for bathers, this undoubtedly poses a real threat, since the number of people affected by the stinging cells of the physalis is sharply increasing. A person in contact with a physalia receives a severe burn. Fortunately, physalium poison is not fatal for humans, however, it leads to a drop in blood pressure, an increase in heart rate, and often to loss of consciousness. Physalium toxins are high-molecular peptides, the action of which is aimed primarily at the defeat nervous system and hearts.

physalis poison very resistant. If dried tentacles are stored in the refrigerator, they retain their toxic properties almost six years. If we compare such a small jellyfish as a sea wasp with physalia in terms of toxicity, then the poison of the latter is not only more toxic, but also extremely dangerous for humans.

These animals have several names: Latin and very feminine - "Physalia" and Russian, sounding warlike - "Portuguese warships", often shortened simply to "Portuguese boats". This name itself is mysterious, and given that such a contradictory combination accurately reflects the nature of these creatures, then the story about them can intrigue anyone. So who are these mysterious strangers?

It would be more correct to start the story about physalia with their systematic position. These marine animals belong to the class Hydroids, which means that their relatives are such coelenterates as jellyfish, sea anemones, corals, as well as lesser known porpits and velellas. With jellyfish Portuguese boats related appearance. The body of the physalis is devoid of any skeletal elements, it is not just soft, but very delicate, translucent, of all kinds of shades of the sea wave. In the guise of a Portuguese boat, two parts can be conditionally distinguished: an oblong bladder up to 30 cm long, very similar to the swim bladder of fish, and many tentacles hanging in thick strands under it.

Physalia, or Portuguese boat (Physalia physalis).

The bubble, at first glance, seems to be an analogue of the dome of jellyfish, but it is arranged in a fundamentally different way. Unlike the dome of jellyfish, which is open from below and can contract, the bubble of physalia is hermetically sealed and filled with air with a high content of carbon dioxide, which is why it is scientifically called a pneumatophore (“air carrier”). The pneumatophore prevents the Portuguese boat from sinking, at the same time, it makes it possible to partially regulate the depth of immersion by changing the concentration of carbon dioxide, and hence the density air environment. From above, the pneumatophore is equipped with a crest, which gives it sailing properties. For all its apparent fragility, the pneumatophore is quite elastic and durable.

The translucent body of physalia is colored in the entire spectrum of blue: from pale blue to deep turquoise. In many individuals, the pneumatophore is pink or magenta-violet above.

But with the underwater part of the physalia, everything is much more complicated. What appears to be part of the body from afar is actually a colony of tiny organisms. And in this respect, the Portuguese ships are much closer to the colonial coral polyps than to jellyfish, which are solitary animals. The entire population of the colony is divided into identical groups - cormidia, whose members specialize in performing certain functions. Gastrozoids, gonozoids, and nectophores play leading roles in each cormidia.

The intricacies of the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war close-up.

Gastrozoids have thin, but unusually long tentacles for such miniature creatures - their length reaches 50 m! The tentacles can contract and carry stinging cells capable of firing venom. They pull the slaughtered prey to the mouth, because the duties of gastrozoids include catching and digesting lunch. And this banquet is being started for the sake of gonozoids, who do not know how to hunt, but are responsible for procreation. Periodically multiplying gonozoids are separated from the mother colony and set off for independent swimming. As truly colonial organisms, they undertake this journey not alone, but in groups that look like a branched tree (it is called a gonodendra). The problem is that gonodendras can't swim. This is where the nectophores, who have not shown themselves for the time being, come to the rescue. Each gonodendra is equipped with one nekotophore, which has a swimming bell like a jellyfish. It shrinks and moves the young colony to the surface of the water, over time it acquires its own pneumatophore and turns into an adult Portuguese boat. In adult physalia, nectophores no longer play a role in locomotion and are again waiting in the wings for the generational change.

The tiny Portuguese boat already has a dome and the beginnings of tentacles.

The movement of adult Portuguese boats is amazing. On the one hand, the fragile and primitive members of the colony are not capable of active movements and any meaningful activity. On the other hand, in life, physalia are rarely washed ashore, which cannot be said about the highly developed dolphins and giant whales, which are often overtaken by such a disaster. The secret of these animals lies in the pneumatophore. It is attached to the trunk of the colony obliquely and motionless - exactly like a taut sail. When the wind hits the side surface of the pneumatophore, the physalia floats, and when it blows into the "bow" or "stern", it remains motionless on the surface of the water, simply drifting. Thus, gradually turning around their own axis, these animals make continuous circular migrations, localized mainly in open ocean waters. For this unsurpassed ability in catching the right wind, physalis were called boats.

Young physalia, in which a full-fledged pneumatophore has not yet formed, but tentacles are already well developed.

It is interesting that among these animals there are born right-handers and left-handers, in which the pneumatophore is deviated to the right or left of the body axis. In practice, this leads to the fact that right-handed and left-handed physalia catch winds of opposite directions, so over time, life literally separates them in different directions. Navigators, finding large concentrations of adult Portuguese ships in the ocean, know for sure that all the "vessels" of this armada will have the same sails. However, there is an element over which the drifting flotilla has no control. These are currents.

Strong tides and storm waves carry the tender physalia ashore and then on the sand you can see a mournful picture of a mass "shipwreck". The seagull decided to feast on the remains of this.

A romantic story about living little boats would be incomplete without revealing the dark side of their nature. By the nature of food, Portuguese warships are predators. The prey of these animals consists mainly of fry, small fish and squid, but gentle creatures use strong poison to kill them. It acts paralytically on prey, and upon contact with human skin leaves burning red scars on it. In high concentrations, the poison penetrates through the skin and causes swelling of the larynx, suffocation, impaired cardiac activity, and in especially severe cases, death. In case of contact with physalia, wash the affected skin area with salt water as soon as possible. It will remove the remaining nematocyst capsules without releasing the poison, and if you wash the skin again hot water, this will accelerate the breakdown of the toxin that has already entered the skin. Sometimes, after such treatment, it is advised to additionally apply shaving cream to the skin and run a razor over it several times to remove the remaining stinging cells. But in no case should fresh water be used, since nematocysts burst from it, releasing new portions of the poison. It used to be recommended to treat the skin with vinegar, but the results of its application are contradictory and this method has now been abandoned.

Among the tentacles of this physalia, you can see an unfortunate fish.

The main danger of physalia lies in the persistence of their poison and the nematocysts that carry it: even tentacles torn off from the colony and individuals that died a few days ago can burn. This increases the likelihood of a burn when swimming, accidentally touching a boat that has been washed ashore. Every year, up to 30,000 victims of contact with Portuguese warships are recorded in the world. After storms that wash the physalis ashore, some beaches even have to be closed.

Nematocysts of the Indo-Pacific physalia (Physalia utriculus), inside which are coiled stinging filaments. When the poison capsule is damaged, they shoot, delivering the toxin directly to the victim's tissue.

The Portuguese ships themselves are also not spared from troubles. They fearlessly feed on poison-resistant webbed octopuses and moonfish, as well as loggerhead turtles, whose mouth cavity is impenetrable to stinging tentacles. Especially insidious are the yantin snails and the nudibranch mollusk glaucus (glaucus). They use the physalium pneumatophore as shelter and home, and instead of gratitude, they gradually eat their host. Not so vicious are the small nomeus fish, which constantly keep under the pneumatophores of the boats. Although they pinch off pieces of tentacles, they do not eat them to the end, finding in their plexus reliable protection from big fish. Good neighbors of physalia are yellow jacks, often swimming in the thick of "flotillas".

Two glaucuses (Glaucus atlanticus) encroach on the life of this Portuguese boat.

Two types of physalia are known in the world: the Portuguese warship itself, which lives in Atlantic Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific Physalia, whose name eloquently indicates that it can be found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Indo-Pacific physalia differs from its counterpart in smaller size (pneumatophore length up to 16 cm), one long tentacle and less toxicity: not a single lethal outcome has been registered with its participation.

And this physalia was lucky. She calmly swims in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by good neighbors - Nomeus fish (Nomeus gronovii).

Portuguese warship, physalia, bluebottle jellyfish are the most famous names for this jellyfish. Dwells in warm waters(Florida, Cuba, Mediterranean Sea, Australia, Japan). Often the Gulf Stream brings them to the shores of England and France. When they accumulate off the coast of England and France or, for example, near the beaches of Florida, television, radio and the press warn the population of the danger.

Jellyfish are poisonous even when washed ashore. The shoots reach a length of up to 10 meters (which is like a thread in the sand).
The "Portuguese boat" got its name from the multi-colored swim bladder, which is shaped like the sail of a medieval Portuguese sailing ship. Bottom part the bubble is blue, and the top one is bright red, while the bubble constantly shimmers with purple colors. The bell of this jellyfish shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow from blue to purple, similar to a rubber cap.




Beauty, however, is deceiving.
"Portuguese boats" are often mistakenly attributed to jellyfish. In fact, they belong to the order of siphonophores ("physalia siphonophora"), which can only move under the influence of the force of the wind and the current of water. The length of the tentacles of the "Portuguese boat" can reach 50 meters, and contact with them is fatal.

The poison of the "boats" is very dangerous. Allergy sufferers are especially affected by it, who are advised to immediately consult a doctor in case of contact with physalia, otherwise the case may be fatal. The most common consequence of contact with the "boat" is prolonged pain at the burn site and inflammation of the wound. A person may develop nausea, chills, pain in the heart.
If a person touches it, blisters will appear on the skin as if burned. It will hurt for 5 hours. Rubbing the mucus will not help, on the contrary, it will only get worse.
Doctors strongly advise not to wash off the poison of the "Portuguese boats" fresh water because it will only make the pain worse. A reliable remedy that will relieve an unpleasant burning sensation is three percent vinegar, which must be moistened with the affected areas.
The general condition will also worsen and will last for several days. Seeing this beauty in the water, immediately swim away from her as far as possible. Turtles feed on these jellyfish.


In any case, if you feel a sharp pain, like from a whip or electric shock, you can safely scream. Firstly, from surprise, and secondly, you may urgently need help. The poison of the physalia is very close in its action to the poison of the cobra. The introduction of even a small dose under the skin of laboratory animals ended tragically for them. If you are allergic, then help should be immediate, if not, then you still need to be prepared for some unpleasant consequences.


First of all - a rather long pain at the site of the burn, followed by inflammation of the wound. Muscle twitches, chills, nausea, vomiting may develop, all of which can respond with pain in the heart. Our famous traveler Yuri Senkevich described his condition after contact with the "ship" as severe and rather long. And the worst thing is that sea water then irritates the wound for a long time, and if such a nuisance happened in the first days of rest, then it’s up to you to decide what to do. The only thing that can be safely advised is to consult a doctor, and not be content with the ointments that you will be offered at the hotel (along with sympathetic looks).

In the event that you are not on a tour, and for some reason you do not have insurance, do not despair. In most countries there are free hospitals, and some of them will give odds to Russian paid ones. And no policy is required, which is interesting.


dangerous beauty
So, burns are far from always fatal, although the Portuguese warship is considered the second most dangerous jellyfish in the world (in the strict sense of the word, this is not quite a jellyfish, but a whole colony of one to two hundred jellyfish and polyps).
A doctor is desirable, more precisely, even obligatory in order to remove intoxication and infection. The trace remains, perhaps for a lifetime, but fades, turns pale over the years ... And who knows, maybe it will become a wonderful memory, or, it is possible, a subject of some pride for you?

Even if you are an excellent swimmer, water is always not the most native element for a person. Of course, you should not be afraid and get lost in it, you just need to strive to love, know and understand it. Like so many other things in life, I guess.

Portuguese boat (lat. Physalia physalis) belong to very primitive, but very interesting invertebrate organisms - siphonophores, close relatives of jellyfish familiar to all of us. This is perhaps one of the most numerous inhabitants of the ocean surface.

They are held on the surface by an air bubble - a pneumatophore, which sometimes has impressive dimensions - up to 15-20 cm. Relatively short digestive organs- gastrozoids, and among their thick fringe spirally twisted trapping tentacles - dactylozoids go down. Their dimensions often reach 30 meters, and they can be reduced to 1/70 of their original length.

Physalia tentacles are a very formidable weapon. Woe to the crustaceans or small fish that touch them: thousands of poisoned arrows dig into their body, causing paralysis and quick death. I have repeatedly experienced their aggressive habits on myself - often the backbone of the tuna layer is entangled with tentacles of physalia, which, in the heat of fishing passions, it is not always possible to notice in time. A thin thread fluttering in the wind, like a merciless biting whip, burns an unprotected body.

The physalia are very brightly colored: the sail-pneumatophore casts in blue, violet and purple colors, and the long dactylozoids are ultramarine, and it is very difficult to see them in the water. On the surface of the water, physalia move without expending energy. The obliquely set crest of the pneumatophore plays the role of a rigid sail and forces the physalia to swim under acute angle to the wind.

The sight of such a sailing flotilla sailing in one direction is impressive. The way they move on the surface has long been compared to the movement of a sailing ship. They got their name "Portuguese boat" in the 15th century after the famous caravels of Henry the Navigator.

Physalia are common in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. In the Sea of ​​Japan, they are observed relatively rarely, here they are recorded in summer period Tsushima Current. They can also be found in the south of the South Kuril region.

Senior Researcher Laboratory of Ichthyology, IBM FEB RAS, Candidate biological sciences A. S. Sokolovsky.


going on seaside resort, people do not think about the dangers that may await them in the waters warm sea. One of these dangers is the predatory inhabitants of the sea. Most people believe that the only dangerous things at sea are predatory fish. Unfortunately, this is far from the case. The real danger to humans is the so-called "Portuguese boats".

"Portuguese boat" has the appearance of a transparent crest, which has tentacles. The length of these tentacles can reach several meters. These inhabitants of the sea got their name for the similarity of their color with the colors of the Portuguese fleet.


These physalia, which are dangerous to humans, are stinging invertebrates and belong to the siphonophore group. In their tentacles there are stinging cells, which contain a portion of a very strong poison. When the tentacle touches the body of the victim, the stinging cells shoot at it with portions of poison.

People who have experienced contact with the tentacles of the "Portuguese boats" say that the sensation of contact with the stinging cells of these physalia can be compared to with a strong blow whip. A trace appears on the human body, which is a burn. It shouldn't be said that pain just awful. Some people lose consciousness, unable to endure such terrible pain. The poison of a predator penetrates into the blood of a person, after which it affects the lungs and heart of the victim.


Depending on which "Portuguese boat" a person met, there will be different consequences from the ingestion of the predator's poison into the body. The victim may feel a lack of air, arrhythmia of the heart, etc. If the case is severe, then death is likely.

At the peak velvet season Physalia flooded the beaches of Thailand. The authorities of this state urgently close the beaches so as not to endanger the lives of vacationers. By the way, this behavior of the "Portuguese boats" is not common, since, as a rule, there are quite a few of them in the waters of this state. The reason for the invasion of stinging invertebrates on the beaches of Thailand is a mystery to scientists.


It should be noted that it is forbidden not only to swim in the waters, which are full of poisonous marine life, but even touch the dead predators thrown onto the coastline. The fact is that stinging cells with poison continue to act even after the predator's body has died.

Those who have come into contact with the "Portuguese boat" must follow safety measures so as not to cause even more harm to their health.


No need to remove the tentacle from the damaged area. The fact is that when damaged, the stinging cells will continue to release new portions of the poison, which will not add health to the victim. In order to separate the tentacles of a predator from the body, it is necessary to pour them with fresh water. If this does not help, then you need to use food vinegar. The very site of the lesion on the human body cannot be washed with fresh water.

It should be noted that the "Portuguese boats" and "box jellyfish" each year carry away about eight dozen human lives. However, if you exercise due diligence, then the risk of becoming a victim of poisonous inhabitants of sea waters can be minimized.

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