The PMOW got its name when earlier travelers saw
it and described it as looking like a Portuguese Warship.
The PMOW is considered odd by some because it is
not just one animal but actually a colony of organisms each which have
their own specified task.
The PMOW's stingers are still able to inject
poison hours after it has died.
So What Are Their Characteristics?
While the float itself is not that spectacular measuring
in anywhere from 3-12 inches, but their tentacles can reach lengths of
upwards of 150.
This bell is filled with the rare gas Argon, the
reason for this is still unknown.
The PMOW is nearly invisible to the unaided eye,
but when viewed closely is seen to be pink, blue, or violet.
The PMOW is sometimes seen floating along in groups
of up to 1000 or more.
This is the most widely distributed of all the jellyfish
in the world.
It is found in almost all warm waters throughout
the world, most commonly in the Gulf Stream and Tropical and Subtropical
Indian and Pacific Oceans.
So, sure it can be seen in all these places, but
how does it get around.
The PMOW has no real internal organs that make it
move.
How it does get around though, is by the wind. It
uses its float much the same way a sailboat uses it sail to maneuver and
change direction.
A unique feature that the PMOW uses is that it can
deflate its float so that inclement weather will not harm it.
THe PMOW's Place In The Food Chain...
The PMOW is a carnivore and eats fish and other small
animals.
The PMOW then uses its tentacles to lure in and paralyze
its prey. It paralyzes it prey by injecting nematocysts, which are its
stingers, into them. After it paralyzes them it digests the animal.
These nematocysts are filled with a venom which is
deadly to most small animals, but contrary to popular belief is not to
most humans.
When killing prey the PMOW can "shoot" thousands
of nematocysts at one time.
The Loggerhead Turtle is pretty much the only known
predator of the PMOW.
The reason it eats the PMOW is unknown. The PMOW
offers it no nutritional value but is thought to give it a "high."
The PMOW eats small fish, but the man-of-war fish
is able to live among it's tentacles unharmed. Why? The fish is adept at darting in and out of the nematocysts without being stung.
It eats the tentacles of the PMOW which does no harm
to them because they are able to regrow them.
