In south Florida at this time of year we see lots of beached Portuguese man-o-wars. They can sting like a jellyfish, but are actually a “colony” of 4 separate polyps that all live together. Often just the bladder remains, but sometimes they’ll still have their full array of tentacles, which can reach 10 feet (and will most definitely still sting you if you touch them)
When I was a kid, a book on marine life had a full-page illustration of “the Portuguese man-o-war,” along with facts about its absurd size. I thought there was just the one. It got a singular definite article, right? The man-o-war. One giant alien lump, wandering the oceans, stinging the shit out of people.