Atlantic swimmers dodge jellyfish

BOSTON, July 24 (UPI) -- Jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war are showing up in unusual numbers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean this summer.

Swimmers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have felt the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war. While it is often referred to as a jellyfish, the man-of-war is actually a siphonophore, a colony of several types of polyp, including the sail that gives it its name and long tentacles.

The Providence Journal reports some public beaches in Rhode Island were closed on Sunday because of Portuguese man-of-war sightings. In Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times said, a 12-year-old boy bodysurfing on Saturday in Harwich, became the latest sting victim on the Cape.

Across the Atlantic in southwestern Norway, swimmers have been dodging large jellyfish that can inflict unpleasant stings. Aftenposten reports that the largest one reported this summer was about a 3 feet in diameter.

Experts say that jellyfish tend to ride ocean currents like the Gulf Stream and numbers often vary widely from year to year.