Predators of the Portuguese Man-o-War include sea slugs, sea turtles, crabs, fish, and the violet sea-snail. The blue dragon (a type of inch-long sea slug) is an interesting predator.

Man-of-wars are found floating in warm waters throughout the world’s oceans. They are primarily found in tropical and subtropical oceans, but strays can be found up the Eastern Atlantic coast as far north as the Bay of Fundy (Canada). They drift on the currents or use their bladder to ‘sail’ with the wind.

Small jellyfish, known as by-the-wind sailors, are washing onto the Californian coast in masses. The sea cretaures, called “by the wind sailors” and not be confused with another interestingly-named sea creature called the Portuguese Man o’ War, were spotted in San Pedro, Orange County and San Diego County.

Resembling an 18th-century Portuguese warship under full sail, the man o’ war is recognized by its balloon-like float, which may be blue, violet, or pink and rises up to six inches above the waterline.

Few species eat the Portuguese man o’ war, but some predators that specialize on stinging, gelatinous invertebrates (e.g., loggerhead sea turtles and ocean sunfish) are known to feed on this and other siphonophores.

Bluebottles are similar to the Portuguese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis) in appearance and behavior, but are smaller and less venomous. However, a bluebottle sting still causes pain and swelling, and tentacles should be removed carefully by beachgoers using tweezers.

The Potuguese Man O’War lives at the surface of the open ocean, held afloat by a gas-filled bladder. This has a crest like structure at the top which acts as a sail. They can’t swim and are at the mercy of the winds – which is why they often end up washed ashore after big storms.

The Portuguese man o’ war ( Physalia physalis ), also known as the man-of-war, bluebottle, or floating terror is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o’ war, which is found mainly in the Pacific Ocean .

Google+. The Portuguese man o’ war is a highly venomous open ocean predator that superficially resembles a jellyfish but is actually a siphonophore. Each man o’ war is actually a colony of several small individual organisms that each have a specialized job and are so closely intertwined that they cannot survive alone.

The Portuguese Man-o-War is a carnivorous creature that feasts on a diet of small fish, plankton, worms, and crustaceans. The colony doesn’t actively seek out food but catches prey along its path from the water’s top. Prey is captured and paralyzed in the poisonous tendrils (dactylozooids) before being consumed by the gastrozooid polyp.