The name man o war comes from the man of war an 18th century sailing warship and the cnidarians resemblance to the portuguese version at full sail.

Jellyfish found in portugal. Their favourite meal is plankton which can be found in shallow waters. Yep they are mauve in colour and have a stinger. Often found in large groups.

The names for the animal in hawaiian include ili maneo palalia and others. Where it is found. They may be found in tropical and subtropical waters in the atlantic pacific and indian oceans and the caribbean and sargasso seas.

Very small jellyfish only up to around 10cm in diameter. This is what often causes them to wash up as they underestimate their size. Just booked our first ever holiday in the eastern algarve and have been told that there have been large jellyfish sightings reported off portugal in the past and more cases of holidaymakers being stung.

Hundreds of human sized jellyfish have been spotted lurking around the cornish coast in the past few days. Portuguese man o wars are a warm water species. They have eight frilly arms which contain their small stinging tentacles and surround hundreds of little mouths.

Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous portuguese man of war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish its not even an it but a they the portuguese. Marine experts have said that there have been more sightings of these gigantic creatures.

Beaches in portugal with jellyfish jellyfish are planktons and are in most cases at the mercy of ocean currents. Pelagia jellyfish or mauve stinger pelagia noctiluca these guys are becoming more and more common. Found mostly in tropical and subtropical waters the atlantic indian portuguese man o war lives at the surface of the ocean.

Occur in autumn and winter. Since the jellyfish are not strong swimmers they are usually found where two currents meet. Occasionally during stormy weather they are washed into cooler areas.