More alien blobs

Almost a mere month after the first record of the jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda from Malta, a new cnidarian species is confirmed as existing in our waters.

This time, far from being anything harmless as in the above-mentioned case, the culprit is the painful stinger Physalia physalis (L., 1758), a hydrozoan (not a true jellyfish) known better as the Portuguese Man-Of-War. The species is more or less frequent in the Atlantic Ocean and only ventures into the Mediterranean occasionally.

The sighting at Ċirkewwa was fortunately recorded on camera by Mr. Adrian Buttigieg, lending more credibility to accounts of sightings off St. Paul's Bay in 2009.