Portuguese Man of War spotted at Folly Beach

FOLLY BEACH, SC (WCSC) – A viewer submitted photos of a Portuguese man o’ war, a jellyfish-like creature she spotted on Folly Beach Sunday morning.

Amy Bradley of James Island spotted the galley on the beach at 4th Street around 6:30 a.m.

Another sighting was reported in a Facebook group on Saturday.

According to the US National Meteorological and Oceanographic Administration (NMEA 2000), the Portuguese man o’ war belongs to the siphonophores, a group of animals closely related to jellyfish.

“The warship resembles an 18th-century Portuguese man-of-war under full sail and is recognizable by its balloon-like float, which can be blue, purple or pink and extends up to 6 inches above the waterline,” NOAA’s website says.

The Portuguese man o’ war’s long strands of tentacles can be up to 100 feet long. These tentacles contain stinging nematocysts, microscopic capsules filled with coiled, barbed tubes that secrete venom that can paralyze and kill small fish and crustaceans,” the NOAA website states.

The sting of a Portuguese man o’ war is rarely fatal to humans, but can cause severe pain and hives on the skin.

Biologists warn beachgoers, especially children and pets, to be wary of them and not to touch them. They say a Portuguese man o’ war can still sting weeks after it has been washed ashore by the sea.

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