A local in Almuñécar came across a Portuguese man-of-war, (Physalia physalis) on Playa de San Cristóbal. Very Nasty!

This one was about 10cm in length so it was pretty small as these blighters go. Luckily, nobody wearing flip-flops tried to play football with this blue meanie, or gargle with it.

It was probably brought down in the currents from further inside the Med, where the water is warmer. They are not jellyfish but rather siphonophores, so don’t call them jellyfish as they get upset about it.

The name man-of-war came about because it was said to have the same appearance as the Portuguese caravel warship at full sail.

Its tentacles deliver a sting that can kill fish right out and has been known to kill a human with pre-existing medical conditions… or just a wimp. Actually, it because in some cases, the venom may travel to the lymph nodes and may cause symptoms that mimic an allergic reaction, including swelling of the layrnx, airway blockage, cardiac distress and shortness of breath.

Its natural predator is the logger-head turtle, aptly named tortuga boba in Spanish; a choice of name that has nothing to do with it eating plastic bags and condoms thinking that they are jelly. Fortunately, there is no record of a male human mistaking a jellyfish for a condom in haste.

The bigger ones have a float of around 15 to 30 centimetres and several hunting tentacles that can reach 30 metres in mature colonies when fully extended.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Jellyfish, Portuguese Man-of-War, Beach, Siphonophores Playa, San Cristobal

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