Physalia from Western Australia

February 13, 2004
From: Monika Stambergova

Dear Dr. Rudman,
I wish to ask you about some species I and my friend found in Western Australia last year. I took pictures of them, which I enclose. Is this Physalia sp.?

Date 7 September 2003, Cape Range Nat. Park - Ningaloo Marine Park, Camp Kurrajong, by the seashore. The animals were pretty small (pneumatophore about 2 cm long), but their stinging cells were quite powerful, anyway :-)). How many Physalia species do exist - at least we know about them?

With best wishes
Monika Stambergova
Czech Republic

stambergova@nature.cz

Stambergova, S., 2004 (Feb 13) Physalia from Western Australia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12173

Dear Monika,
Yes this is Physalia. I'm afraid the taxonomy of Physalia is outside my field of expertise. Some say the Atlantic species is different from the Indo-West Pacific but there doesn't seem to be any consensus. May be no-one has studied the question in any depth.
Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Feb 13). Comment on Physalia from Western Australia by Monika Stambergova. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12173

Factsheet

Physalia (Portugese man-o-war or Bluebottle)

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