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THE PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 



In this curious animal the body is membranous, oval, and very flat, and may be at 

 once recognised by the cartilaginous crest which rises obliquely from its upper surface, 

 and the numerous tubercles which depend from its lower surface and surround the mouth. 

 This cartilaginous substance marks out the Sallee Man as possessing a somewhat higher 

 organization than its merely gelatinous relatives, and it is therefore placed at the head of 

 its order. 



The Velella is seldom seen on our own coasts, although it sometimes happens to be 



driven, by stress of wind and 

 waves, to regions more chilly than 

 those in which it entered the 

 world. It is thought with justice 

 that the upright cartilage can act 

 the part of a sail, and, by means 

 of its diagonal setting, drive the 

 creature through the sea. The 

 exact direction of its movements 

 is in all probability decided by the 

 numerous tentacles which hang 

 from its lower surface, and which, 

 by contraction or extension, can 

 become living rudders. 



The Velella is very widely 

 distributed, and is found in every 

 sea except those that are subject 

 to the cold influences of the poles. 

 It seldom approaches land, but 

 may be met in vast numbers, 

 sometimes being crowded together 

 in large masses^ and of various 

 sizes. 



There is an allied genus called 

 RATARIA, in which the body is 

 circular, and the row of tentacles 

 round the mouth is single. The 

 body is sustained by a flattened 

 elevated cartilaginous plate, and 

 possesses also a longitudinal crest 

 above, muscular and moveable. 



The internal cartilage of the 

 Velelladse are sometimes found 

 strewn in great numbers on the 

 surface of the water. Sailors be- 

 lieve that the delicate substance 

 of the creature has been destroyed 

 by the hot sunbeams, but natural- 

 ists have now ascertained that 

 the true cause of their destruction 

 is to be found in the sea-lizard 

 (Glaucus), which feeds upon these 



curious inhabitants of the ocean, and devours the whole body with the exception of the 

 firm cartilaginous plates. 



THE upper figure represents the celebrated PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 



This beautiful but most formidable acaleph is found in all the tropical seas, and 

 never fails to attract the attention of those who see it for the first time. The general 

 shape of this remarkable being is a bubble-like envelope filled with air, upon which 



PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. Physalis peldgicus. 

 VENUS' GIRDLE. Cestvm Vtneris. SALLEE MAN. Veklla vulgaris. 



