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Keep Away

What looks like a curtain of Mardi Gras beads hung in a doorway is actually something to strike fear in the heart of any fish swimming nearby. These are the tentacles hanging beneath the ship-shaped surface float of a man o’war jelly. The “beads” are batteries of stinging cells that inject toxin into any creature they contact. The sting can be very painful for any human unfortunate enough to come in contact with the tentacles—and is deadly to small prey.(Photo by Larry Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)