Physalia

Physalia
A genus of the invertebrate phylum Cnidaria that includes the Portuguese man-of-war.
- P. physalis the Portuguese man-of-war, a jellyfishlike animal consisting of a complex colony of individual members that can inflict extremely painful stings. SYN: Portuguese man-of-war.

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phy·sa·lia fī-'sā-lē-ə n
1) cap a genus (family Physaliidae) of large oceanic siphonophores including the Portuguese man-of-wars
2) any siphonophore of the genus Physalia

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Phy·sa·lia (fi-saґle-ə) a genus of invertebrates of the phylum Cnidaria, class Hydrozoa, all called Portuguese man-of-war. All species have a large purple air sac that allows them to float on the surface of the water, and from which many long tentacles of stinging polyps hang. The tentacles are equipped with nematocysts that are able to penetrate skin and cause intense pain; paralysis can result from numerous stings.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Physalia — Phy*sa li*a, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a bladder, fr. ? a bellows.] (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of large oceanic Siphonophora which includes the Portuguese man of war. [1913 Webster] Note: It has a large air sac, or float, with a sail like crest on its upper… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Physalĭa — Physalĭa, so v.w. Galeerenqualle …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Physalĭa — Physalĭa, s. Meeresfauna, S. 536 …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Physalia — Physalie Physalie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Physalia — noun Portuguese man of war • Syn: ↑genus Physalia • Hypernyms: ↑coelenterate genus • Member Holonyms: ↑Siphonophora, ↑order Siphonophora • Member Meronyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Physalia physalis — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Carabela portuguesa Physalia physalis …   Wikipedia Español

  • Physalia arethusa — Physalia Phy*sa li*a, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a bladder, fr. ? a bellows.] (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of large oceanic Siphonophora which includes the Portuguese man of war. [1913 Webster] Note: It has a large air sac, or float, with a sail like crest on its… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Physalia physalis — Physalie Physalie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Physalia physalis — Portugiesische Galeere Portugiesische Galeere (Physalia physalis) Systematik Stamm: Nesseltiere (Cnidaria) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Physalia — …   Википедия

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