You might think this is a jellyfish, but you would be very wrong. This is an Atlantic Portuguese man o' war, which is not one single organism, but a floating colony of hydrozoans.
These organisms are physiologically attached to one another and have to work together and function like an individual specimen in order to feed, reproduce and ultimately survive.
It was in the autumn of 2017 that wildlife photographer Irene Mendez Cruz first became aware of this bizarre creature... or creatures.
The extreme weather that hit the the south west of England last year resulted in the biggest mass stranding of Portuguese man O' war since 2012. "Because it was all happening near where I live, I decided to go look for them," says Mendez Cruz. On her quest, she found over a 100 specimens washed up on a beach near St Ives, Cornwall.
Although taken in a studio environment, her series of images capture the typical floating position of the Portuguese man o'war, just skimming the surface of the water. "They live in the open ocean, permanently floating and sailing thanks to their gas-filled bladder, through wind and current action," Mendez Cruz says. "It is actually the sail-shape of their crest that gave them its name, as it was believed to look like an 18th century Portuguese battleship."
The tentacles of the Portuguese man o'war lie beneath the surface of the water. These can grow up to 30 metres in length and are covered in stinging cells used to paralyse prey, making this species particularly poisonous.
"As soon as I heard about the strandings I knew I had to make the most of this rare opportunity" she says. "My initial plan was to get in the water with them but I decided against it because of its venomous nature and the rough water conditions at the time.
"Portuguese man o’ war are usually thought of as deadly creatures," Mendez Cruz says. "I wanted to challenge people’s perspectives and put the emphasis on their beautiful colours."
To see more from the series, go to www.irenemendezcruz.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
