Portuguese Man-Of-War

I received an email from a friend in Brownsville with these pretty amazing pictures.  It seems these “jellyfish” looking creatures have washed up on the beach on South Padre Island this past weekend.

Art Ledezma wrote:

One of nature's anomalies.

Yes, I would say most are dead.

They're really called "Portuguese Man-Of-War" and the majority of their bodies are several feet long and if you step on one barefoot, it will burn you big time.

There is another sea creature called "Jellyfish," but they're different, they're round and larger.

You need a handful of meat tenderizer to apply on the affected area. (Should you come in contact with one.)

They need to float in the water to stay alive.

I've seen this happen almost every year, sometimes in large amounts, sometimes small amounts. Also if you run over them with your truck or car you might have problems with your tires, since the "stinging" substance is so strong on the rubber...

Ever had one or part of one "slide" over you?

Burns like hell, literally...

I remember one time as a child at Galveston Beach (since I lived in Houston) I came out of the water screaming and crying. My mother couldn't figure out what to do except rub Calamine lotion on my legs and back until the pain went away about 2 hours laters...

Thanks, Arty, for sharing these pictures with me.  We sure miss being close to SPI and sights such as this.