Mawia Explained

Mawia is a genus of jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae. It is a monotypic genus with the sole species Mawia benovici.^[1] The team who discovered this jellyfish named it benovici after a late colleague, Adam Benovic.^{[2] [3]} Originally belonging to the genus Pelagia, it was later moved into its own genus, which was named after the Arab warrior-queen Mavia.^[4] Although described based on specimens from the Adriatic Sea, a part of the Mediterranean, it was speculated that these might be transplants (via ballast water) rather than a part of its natural range.^[2] A later study found specimens in Senegal, indicating that its natural range possibly is the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Mawia benovici (Piraino, Aglieri, Scorrano & Boero, 2014). www.marinespecies.org. en. 2018-01-30.
2. Web site: Pelagia benovici sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): a new jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea | PIRAINO | Zootaxa . Biotaxa.org . 2014-05-12.
3. Web site: Lizzy Davies in Rome . New jellyfish species identified in Gulf of Venice | World news . theguardian.com . 12 May 2014. 2014-05-12.
4. Avian, M.; Ramšak, A.; Tirelli, V.; D'ambra, I.; Malej, A. (2016). Redescription of Pelagia benovici into a new jellyfish genus, Mawia, gen. nov., and its phylogenetic position within Pelagiidae (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Semaeostomeae). Invertebrate Systematics. 30(6), 523-546.
5. Gaffney . Patrick M. . Collins . Allen G. . Bayha . Keith M. . 2017 . Multigene phylogeny of the scyphozoan jellyfish family Pelagiidae reveals that the common U.S. Atlantic sea nettle comprises two distinct species (Chrysaora quinquecirrha and C. chesapeakei) . PeerJ . 5 . e3863 . 10.7717/peerj.3863 . 29043109 . 5642265. 2167-8359 . free .