The infamous, jellyfish-like, Portuguese man-of-war is not likely to have visited Maltese waters but it is not an impossible feat for the floating invertebrate.
Health authorities have not received any formal reports about it other than an e-mail that has been doing the rounds claiming that children spotted the marine species off St Paul's islands in March.
Similarly, no reports reached marine conservation biologist Adriana Vella who warned, however, that, although unlikely, it was not impossible for the man-of-war to float into local waters.
"Though not frequent in the Mediterranean, this marine species has a wide distribution in temperate and warm waters of the world, which includes the Mediterranean Sea," Dr Vella said in reaction to the e-mail.
Technically, the physalia physalis, as it is known scientifically, is not actually a jellyfish but a colony of different kinds of organisms (such as little polyps) that live in a cluster and together look like one big jellyfish.
Sometimes called blue bottle, the jelly-like creature gives a burning sting that is more painful than that of a jellyfish and can, in extreme cases, be lethal.
Dr Vella said there had been at least some sightings off the southern coasts of Spain in April while another closer sighting was recorded in the south east of Sicily last February.
According to the Mediterranean fishing website medfish.com, the man-of-war had ventured into waters normally considered too warm for them.
But there have been no such conclusive reports in Malta so far.
Dr Vella encouraged anyone who came across anything different to the normal jellyfish to take a photo and inform the health authorities.
She stressed that the sighting of one creature need not be alarming. This depended on the manner in which they entered the local waters as one or two might have drifted with the current and would not be able to reproduce.
According to The Guardian, westerly winds have blown the Portuguese men-of-war into the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. There did not appear to be enough of the creatures to form a permanent colony in the Mediterranean, the newspaper reported.
The Health Department has issued recommendations on what to do if stung by jelly fish in general, which are becoming more common in Maltese waters.
The department said the best thing to do would be to remove any tentacle traces carefully, making sure you are not stung elsewhere in the process, wash the skin gently with salt water and put alcohol on the affected area. It also recommends seeking medical help in the case of breathing difficulties, chest pain and intense pain in the stung area.