Why Do Only Males of <i>Mawia benovici</i> (Pelagiidae: Semaeostomeae: Scyphozoa) Seem to Inhabit the Northern Adriatic Sea?

Abstract

This manuscript presents four new observations of the jellyfish Mawia benovici in the Adriatic Sea. This new species was recently identified as Pelagia benovici by Piraino et al. (2014) and then placed in the new genus Mawia by Avian et al. 2016. This species is rare and is almost exclusively observed in the Adriatic Sea. Interestingly, the majority of observations refer to males only. Few studies have addressed the issue of sex determination in Syphozoa in particular, as sex identity can only be determined at the medusa stage. Unfortunately, the rarity of M. benovici and the lack of female specimens have so far prevented indispensable laboratory studies to clarify its life cycle. Still, we tried to propose an explanation for our field observations.

Keywords

• jellyfish
• sex ratio
• Mediterranean Sea