The genus physalia includes two species.

Blue bottle jellyfish vs portuguese man of war. The only other species physalia physalis the portugese man o war is found in the atlantic ocean. The bluebottle pacific man o war is found in marine waters in the indian and pacific oceans. One of the most distinctive features of a portuguese man of war is its long tentacles which comprise the second organism of the man of war.

Bluebottle physalia utriculus and portugese man o war physalia physalia. Throughout australia bluebottles are more common on exposed ocean beaches after strong onshore north easterly winds wash them ashore and are rarely found in sheltered waters. The portuguese man of war has a wider color range and many tentacles while the australian blue bottle is blue and has a single long tentacle.

Man of wars have a multicolored blue red purple pink and mauve balloonlike float called a pneumatophore with tentacles that can hang down to 50 meters although 30 feet or 10 meters is more common. You would now be correct t. It used to be that the names referred to two different species.

This familiar species periodically plagues our coastal beaches especially after strong north easterly winds. The portuguese man of war and the pacific man of war or australian blue bottle physalia utriculus. Bluebottles cause a painful sharp sting when one touches them this pain can last for hours.

Tentacles can extend to as long as 165ft in length and. This jellyfish has been common in australia and also in the united kingdom. They at times wash up on the beach and even the dead can produce a bad sting.

The individual bluebottle is actually a colony of hydroids known as siphonophores each adopting a highly specialised function. Bluebottle or portuguese man o war physalia physalis. Subscribe and to official bbc youtube httpsbitly2ixqein stream original bbc programmes first on bbc iplayer httpsbbcin2j18jyj over half of al.