The 100-Foot Sea Critter With a Gnarly Sting

(light whimsical music)

[Matt] At 100 feet long and over 300,000 pounds,

the blue whale is the biggest animal on earth.

That's like three school buses

or a single 100 foot long ruler.

But another oceanic creature actually measures up to it.

This, yes, this.

You're looking at a siphonophore,

which can grow to 100 feet long.

Think of the various species of siphonophore like jellyfish,

only far stranger.

They may look like individual animals,

but siphonophores are actually made up of a stem

that buds thousands of clones, each with a specific job.

Some jet-propelling clones at the front

make up the engine, still others are the assassins.

Like the jellyfish, siphonophores sting with tentacles.

And this here is the most famous and dangerous

siphonophore of them all, the Portuguese man 'o war.

Instead of a 100 foot long stem,

it's built more like a balloon to float along the surface

and it's sting is excruciating.

Even worse, it's stingers can break loose

and still do damage floating around on their own.

I'd like to see a blue whale do that.

(light music)