Most probably, P. benovici was transported as viable jellyfish in the ballast waters of ships coming from the
native area of this species, where it remains still undetected. This is the third case of a new species discovered in
the Mediterranean but native to different seas, after the Erythrean immigrants Alpheus migrans (Decapoda)
Lewinson and Holthuis 1978, and the rhizostome jellyfish Marivagia stellata. The life cycle of P. benovici still
remains unknown, but this new taxon looks like an invasive species with the potential to form large blooms. It may
have potential to spread across the Adriatic and neighbouring seas, raising the need for research efforts on
mechanisms driving bioinvasions and on the impact of outbreak-forming species, as Boero (2013) recently
advocated.