the portuguese man-of-war, scientifically termed physalia physalis, are a siphonophore - an animal which is in fact a multitude, or colony, of organisms working together to form one entity - often confused for a jellyfish, it is anatomically a world apart.

only some species of the organism are dangerous to man, and although very painful, the poison is only deadly in very rare cases - it is important to note that the venom of those that do present a danger is toxic even once the creature is dead.

they have gelatinous bodies and use oral tentacles to hunt and sting their prey - these tentacles have a coiled tubular exterior containing a venomous liquid within which can cause great irritation, intense burning, anaphylactic shock and in extreme cases paralysis of the nervous system - a caravel's tentacles can reach up to 30 metres long.