Rare Creature Spotted on Beach Popular with Louisiana Visitors

(KMDL-FM) In Louisiana, we love our beach time. Even though our state's beaches are sometimes not the most scenic or hygienic we still love the sound of the waves, the sting of a sunburn, and the irritation that only sand can create when it gets into places we'd rather it wouldn't.

Actually, if you took a poll of Louisiana beach lovers you'd find the term "the beach" usually refers to portions of Lower Alabama like Gulf Shores and Perdido Key or portions of the Florida panhandle like Fort Walton, Destin, or Pensacola.

It was on one of those beaches that a rare and exotic sea creature was seen after it washed up on shore. According to the authorities in Orange Beach Alabama, the creature in question was a "jellyfish". But no, this wasn't the typical "purple beach flags flying" kind of jellyfish, this was a "Mack Daddy" of a jellyfish.

Okay, before the International Brotherhood of Marine Biologists and Internet Correction Society starts to bust my chops, I wanted to let you know that this creature, the Portuguese Man o' War is not technically a jellyfish. It is a siphonophore. Siphonophores are a group of animals that are very closely related to jellyfish. So pardon my faux pas and generalizations.

The Man o' War is actually composed of a colony of specialized identical individuals called zooids that all work together to make the "creature" what it is. These zooids are situated beneath a balloon-like float that can be pink, blue, or violet, and rise more than half a foot above the sea's surface.

The tentacles beneath the float are where you and I can get into trouble. Those tentacles can be as long as 30 feet with some extending outward even further. The tentacles contain stinging nematocysts that deliver venom to the Man-o-War's intended prey. The sting can paralyze and kill small fish and other creatures.

On humans, a sting from a Man-o-War is very painful but it's usually not deadly. Should you encounter one of these creatures on the beach look but don't touch and remember the stinging tentacles could be spread out on the sand quite a distance from where you see the creature's float.

Hopefully, your next beach vacation won't include a brush with one of these creatures, and if it does let's hope your only connection to it will be through pictures.