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New Yorkers flocking to Florida to enjoy a vacation in the sun should be wary of these marine creatures whose stings can cause pain.
Portuguese Man’s Owers, a stinging marine animal related to jellyfish with 30-foot tentacles, are washing up on South Florida beaches as a result of recent strong winds in the region. The Miami Herald reported.
Although this species does not swim, it gets its name from the way it floats on the water, resembling the sails of 18th-century Portuguese warships. According to the National Oceanic Service.
They are known to appear along coastlines during windy weather from late fall to winter.
“My hunch is that there are seasonal changes in the occurrence and frequency of trade winds, ocean currents, and winter storms that create onshore currents that drive animals to the South Florida coast in the winter. I think so,” says director William “Monty” Graham. A professor at the Florida Institute of Oceanography told the magazine.
Their long tentacles, which are venomous and kill small fish, can extend up to 100 feet.
Their stings are rarely fatal to humans, but they are painful and cause welts to form on the skin.
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