We've all heard of the dreaded Portuguese man-of-war, which can deliver deadly stings with its highly venomous tentacles. But what exactly is it? And what do they really look like? The answers to both questions may surprise and terrify you!
Oftentimes incorrectly identified as a jellyfish, the bizarre Portuguese man-of-war is actually a siphonophore, which is essentially the scientific way of saying it's a hybrid mutant. Though siphonophores look to be a single animal, they're actually comprised of several different living things, and the man-of-war is made up of four individual organisms. The different parts work together to form the strange looking blob, and allow it to eat, swim and reproduce.
Though man-of-wars are of course typically found in the water, where it's hard to see exactly what they look like, an incredible video was just uploaded to YouTube of a beached man-of-war in Brazil, which shows off the creature in all its colorful glory. You've never seen anything like this little guy before, I can be pretty sure of that!
Check out the amazing video below, which comes to us courtesy of The Huffington Post.