Giant Portuguese man-o-war

The giant Portuguese man-o-war was a species of monstrously sized aquatic creature, a sort of giant jellyfish.

Description
These creatures had largely transparent bodies, which were difficult for most creatures to detect unless they could perceive invisible objects. They typically sported around ten to forty tentacles, with their length varying depending upon the specimen's size.

The smallest specimens were in diameter and typically had ten tentacles that each measured  in length. The largest specimens were in diameter and typically had forty tentacles that each measured  in length.

Abilities
The tentacles of these creatures were coated in a paralytic poison. They used this to stun their prey for easier meals. When tentacles were sliced off it did no harm to the central body of a giant Portuguese man-o-war and the tentacles would regenerate over the course of several days.

Ecology
Giant Portuguese men-o-war were known to live either alone or in groups of up to ten members, though they primarily lived solitarily.

Habitats
These creatures were primarily found in warm, tropical oceans, in shallows. They were rarely found deeper than, the range in which light could easily penetrate the water. They often washed up on beaches during storms, where their tentacles became partially buried.

In the Realms, they were only known to inhabit the seas and ocean around the Moonshae Isles.

Relationships
When beached by storms, sea birds and crustaceans would prey upon their helpless bodies.

Usage
Some sahuagin would place these creatures within their lairs to act as traps against any would-be intruders.

History
Around the 12 century DR, the famed pirate captain Immurk and his men transported two giant Portuguese man-o-wars to an underwater grotto in the Egg of the Isles, a small islet in the Pirate Isles, to act as guardians of his treasure.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Dungeon #48, "The Oracle at Sumbar"