Report of Mauve Stinger Pelagia cf. noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) Bloom from Northeastern Arabian Sea (NEAS)

The jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca is considered as one of the notorious bloom forming species in the world’s oceans due to its wide distribution, high abundance, ecological role, and also because of its negative interaction with humans. In the present study, we report the bloom of Pelagia cf. noctiluca from northeastern Arabian Sea in December 2018, identifying specimens with the use of molecular and morphological approaches. The identification of this species is important for monitoring future blooms in the area and for understanding the diversity of the genus in a global scale. Genetic data considered sequences of COI and 16S, and our sample clustered with data identified as Pelagia noctiluca and P. panopyra . Based on the analysis the closest species with confirmed records is P. noctiluca from the Mediterranean Sea. However, we prefer to be conservative and keep some level of uncertainty in species identification as Pelagia cf. noctiluca until further populational studies can embrace the whole diversity of the genus and distributions. The density of the reported bloom was 7550 ± 576 ind. m −3 .