View source for Physalia

{{Short description|Genus of hydrozoans}}
{{Distinguish|Physalis}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Portuguese Man-O-War (Physalia physalis).jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Physalia physalis]]''
| display_parents = 2
| parent_authority = Brandt, 1835
| taxon = Physalia
| authority = [[Lamarck]], 1801 <ref name=ITIS />
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * ''[[Physalia physalis]]''
}}
'''''Physalia''''' is a genus of the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Siphonophorae]], [[Colony (biology)|colonies]] of four specialized [[Polyp (zoology)|polyp]]s and [[Medusa (biology)|medusoids]] that drift on the surface of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific ocean]]s. Although these organisms look like a single multicellular organism, each specimen is actually a colony of minute organisms called [[zooids]] that have to work together for survival. A gas-filled bladder resembling a blue bottle provides buoyancy, and long tentacles of venomous [[cnidocyte]]s provide a means of capturing prey. A sail on the float, which may be left or right-handed, propels ''Physalia'' about the sea, often in groups. These siphonophores sometimes become stranded on beaches, where their toxic [[nematocysts]] can remain potent for weeks or months in moist conditions. Both species of this siphonophore resemble a jellyfish in appearance, with their gas-filled float and cluster of polyps beneath, which can hang up to 30 or 165 ft (9 to 50 m) below the surface of the sea.
Because it frequently washes up on beaches on the coast of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and is seen in the open ocean, ''Physalia'' is the best-known genus of siphonophore, as nearly all siphonophores live in the cold, dark ocean depths where they can only be observed in their natural habitat by a submersible or ROV.
The genus was first described by [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]] in 1801.<ref name=ITIS >{{ITIS |taxon=''Physalia'' Lamarck, 1801 |id= 51435}}</ref>
==Diversity==
The family '''Physaliidae''' is monotypic, consisting of only one genus, ''Physalia''<ref>{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Physaliidae Brandt, 1835 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=135342 |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=www.marinespecies.org}}</ref>. The genus is also monotypic, containing only ''[[Portuguese man o' war|P. physalis]].''<ref name="ITIS" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Physalia Lamarck, 1801 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=135382 |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=www.marinespecies.org |language=en}}</ref> There is a long history of the genus being described with multiple species, such as the Pacific man o' war (''P. utriculus''), however most of these species are now considered synonyms for ''P. physalis.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bardi |first=Juliana |last2=Marques |first2=Antonio C |date=2007 |title=Taxonomic redescription of the Portuguese man-of-war, Physalia physalis (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Siphonophorae, Cystonectae) from Brazil |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/isz/a/3yH38SCcFtJPJGJvw94DNtJ/?lang=en |journal=Iheringia. Série Zoologia |volume=97 |issue=4 |pages=425-433}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2704401}}
[[Category:Siphonophorae]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]]
[[Category:Cnidarian genera]]