Invisible Oceans Founder's Collection: Invisible Oceans #5: Porpita II

Large adult porpita filmed from below, with sky above. Within the central disc are clustered reproductive tentacles that appear to be budding off dark brown eggs. Not a lot is known about this rarely encountered open ocean, surface-clinging relative of the Portuguese man-o-war. Each tentacle has finely divided stubby 'fingers', each terminated by a minute clump of stinging nematocysts, or stinging cells, which paralyse the microscopic prey unfortunate enough to bump into them.

Lizard Island, Australia (2001)

Nikon F4 | Nikon Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8 | Fuji Velvia