Altea shuts beach after Portuguese Man O'War sighted
Thursday, April 26, 2018 @ 12:24 PM
AT LEAST one beach on the Costa Blanca has been shut after a Portuguese Man O'War was found on the shores.
Altea (Alicante province) has banned bathers for the moment, and the poisonous species have been seen on the Levante and Mal Pas beaches in neighbouring Benidorm earlier this month.
Although it looks – and stings – like a jellyfish, the Portuguese Man O'War is in fact a different species altogether, a marine hydrozoan from the Physaliidae family normally found in the Pacific, Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, but not normally in the Mediterranean.
Given their very close similarity, the Portuguese Man O'War, or Physalia Physalis, is often referred to as a 'false jellyfish'.
Its stings are extremely painful and poisonous, and in some very rare cases, have proven fatal.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com