If you've visited a Welsh beach recently, you might have seen this colourful jellyfish-like creature washed up ashore.
The sea-creature, called a Portuguese man o' war, has long blue tentacles and a pink inflatable bladder, which resembles a warship at sail.
But, despite the pretty colours, you might want to think twice about touching them.
Though the Portuguese man o' war is not a jellyfish, the tentacles are venomous and deliver an excruciating sting - even when they're dead.
Luckily, the sting is rarely deadly in humans. It is intended to paralyse and kill fish and other small animals.
In some cases, the venom can cause symptoms that mimic an allergic reaction, causing cardiac distress, and difficulty breathing.
Recently, they have been sighted on a number of Welsh beaches, including Three Cliffs Bay, Manorbier, West Angle Bay and Broad Haven South.
Penny Harris spotted them tangled in seaweed at West Angle Bay. She warned this made them difficult to see and that parents and dog-owners in particular should stay vigilant.
Each Portuguese man o' war is made up of several organisms which work together. Rather than an "it" the sea creature is technically a "they".
These organisms include an inflatable body, used to regulate the creature’s depth, along with poisonous tentacles, digestive organs, and reproductive organs.
The tentacles can extend up to 165 feet long under water.
The creatures are found sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more and usually float in warm water.
They have no objective to move forward in a particular direction. They either drift on the sea's current or are pushed by the wind.
The dos and don'ts of jellyfish stings
Marine Conservation Society jellyfish expert, Dr Peter Richardson, said: "Because a stranded Portuguese man o’ war looks a bit like a deflating purple balloon with blue ribbons attached, children will find it fascinating.
"So, if you’re visiting west coast beaches in the next few weeks it’s well worth making sure you know what these animals look like and that no-one picks them up.
"The stings can be unbelievably painful and in rare cases, fatal
"We’d like people to report any sightings of Portuguese man o’ war to our website so we get a better idea of the extent of the strandings”.
