Every year a “alarm” emerges due to the presence of the Portuguese caravel (Physalia Physalis) in Italy and in Mediterraneanbut what is the real situation in our seas? Although in recent years they have been reported in Sicily (Strait of Messina and Coste of Catania), Sardinia And Ligurian Sea specimens of this body whose long tentacles cause burnsat the moment there are no confirmation from the official research bodies, making this news to be treated with caution. As the zoologist reports Stefano Piraino to Fanpage.itthis year there have been no reports of sightings on Italian beaches, therefore at the moment an alleged “Portuguese caravel alarm” in our country appears completely unjustified.
In any case, his presence in the Mediterranean would not be a new event (a 2022 study reports sightings in the Mare Nostrum until 1850). Also in the Italian seas the Portuguese caravel was sighted in the spring and past summers, with a significant wave in 2010 And sporadic sightings almost every year. What is certain is the situation on the coasts of France And Spainwhere several beaches were closed during the summer 2025 due to the numerous sightings. However, the affected areas (Basque Country and French Region of the Landes) are bathed byAtlantic Oceanwhere the species is much more common. The constant monitoring However, it remains important for public safety, given the danger of his long tentacles, which can cause severe pain and allergic reactions even when the animal is beached.
What the study of the sightings of the Portuguese caravel in the Mediterranean states
The authors of the study The Portuguese Man-Of-War Has Always Entered The Mediterranean Sea—strandings, Sighings, and Museum Collections they created a database with the information obtained from disparate sources including Scientific and historical literature, museum collections, News Archives And social media analysis. Starting from the first sightings documented in 1850 they reported beyond 8,000 Reports of Portuguese Caravelle colonies in the Mediterranean until 2019. The most frequently affected areas include the aforementioned coasts of the Spain and Italy, especially the two islands Sicily And Sardinia.
The process of “tropicalization“of the Mediterranean, which with the increase in the temperatures of its waters becomes suitable for the entry of alien species Coming from tropical regions, it could cause – together with the changes in the marine currents of the Mediterranean itself, also to be traced back to climate change – an increase in sightings of the caravel in the coming years in the Italian seas, but new studies and official data will be needed to understand the impact of this “migration”. Beyond the Portuguese Tropicalization caravel of the Mediterranean is worrying because the alien species They compete with those already present, altering the balance of ecosystems and representing a threat to biodiversity.
What is the Portuguese caravel and where it lives
The Portuguese caravel is often confused with a jellyfish or “super medusa” but in reality it is a siphonophya gelatinous colonial body composed of many small specialized individuals called zoid (or polyps) who work together as a unique organism. The morphology, from which it takes its name (in English man-o-war), recalls the eighteenth -century Portuguese warships that furrowed the seas with the sails explained. In fact, it has a transparent bag full of gas (tneumator) which acts as a “sail” and is useful for floating.
The Portuguese caravel is mainly found in Tropical and subtropical warm waters of all oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian) with a greater concentration in theAtlantic Ocean. His presence in Mediterranean Sea it is instead considered sporadic and not stable – does not have a population native (i.e. native and reproductive) in our seas. The sightings that took place in recent decades are due to individuals passively transported by the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar due to favorable winds and currents. In fact, this animal is not autonomous in the movement but moves thanks to the forces of the sea. For these reasons, reports almost always take place in western basinmainly affecting the coasts of Spain, France, Sicily And Sardinia. Just in the region with the Cagliari capital, in 2010 the only case was recorded lethal Meeting with a Portuguese caravel in the Mediterranean: a woman who swam off the coast had an allergic reaction after coming into contact with the tentacles.
