Venomous Man o' War Wash Up At Tiana Beach

Several venomous Portuguese Man o' War, native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, have washed up near Tiana Beach in East Quogue, according to the Southampton Trustees.

"Be careful not to touch them since the tentacles will sting, even if it appears to be dead on the beach," the trustees warned on their Facebook page.

The trustees also urged beach-goers to keep an eye out while swimming.

While the species resembles a jellyfish, the trustees explained that they are actually "colonial organisms made up of many minute individuals, called zooids."

The name, Man o' War, reported the trustees, comes from "an 18th century armed sailing ship and the creature's resemblance to the Portugese version at full sail."

According to various websites, the Man o' War is responsible for thousands of human stings ever year - most stung by the creature will experience severe pain for about an hour and red welts that will last a few days.

Update 8:00 p.m.: Some 18 Man o'War have washed up in Montauk and and another four or five in Amagansett. 

John Ryan Jr., the chief of the East Hampton Town lifeguards, told East Hampton Patch that a southwest storm, which has caused the ocean waters to become five-degrees warmer than last week, brought the species inshore.

He said he has not seen the species in the area since 2006.