Velella velella (Hydrozoa) on the coast of Pakistan along the northern Arabian Sea

Abstract

Taxonomic information on Hydrozoa from waters of Pakistan is limited to relatively few studies. None of them reported the pleustonic species Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758). Daniel (1976) reviewed the worldwide distribution of the two dimorphic forms of V. Velella (with the sail oriented either Northwest or Southeast), but no occurrences of the species were recorded in the northern Arabian Sea. The aim of this report is to record this hydrozoan found on the coast of Pakistan, as knowledge of its occurrence in the region is lacking in the scientific literature.