The Portuguese Man-of-war is not a true jellyfish. Moreover, it is not a single animal
It is a colony of many organisms called polyps (or zooids) that live in symbiosis
The blue tinged float or bladdere is called the pneumatophore. The feeding tentacles hang
down in the water and capture small fish, crustaceans and plankton. The prey are paralyzed by
by stinging cells which contain a toxic substances called allomones. The allomones are distributed
throughout the entire organism in the stinging cells and the body tissues. The allomones are
composed of neurotoxins, cytolysins, and toxic phospholipases.
