Portuguese man o' war
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The Portuguese man o' war, also known as the man-of-war, bluebottle, or sometimes called Caravela Portuguesa, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. While it is typic
Portuguese Man O War
Washed ashore on a beach in Boca Raton, Florida
The violet sea snail, which uses a raft of bubbles, as shown here, to float at the ocean surface, feeds on men o' war.
Man-of-war fish
Man-of-war
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In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war was a powerful warship or frigate which was frequently used in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was
Portuguese man o' war
…The sail may be left or right-handed, being so assigned on the basis of the direction in which the wind catches it. The name man o' war comes from the man-of-war, a sailing warship, and the animal's resemblance to the Portuguese version (the caravel) at full sail. The genus name Physalia and species name physalis…
A Dutch man-of-war firing a salute. The Cannon Shot, painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger.
Man-of-war driving on a reef of rocks, and foundering in a gale, painting by George Philip Reinagle