Europa - Underwater Fauna & Flora

Over the past decades, PostEurop, the association that represents European public postal operators, has been coordinating the annual issue of stamps bearing a common theme. The aim of issuing "Europa Stamps" is to build awareness of the common roots, culture, and history of Europe and its shared goals.
Since 1993, PostEurop was responsible for issuing EUROPA stamps and these have now become a tangible symbol of Europe's mission for closer integration and cooperation. The EUROPA stamp theme for 2024 is "Underwater Fauna & Flora", highlighting the biodiversity of Europe's waters which are suffering from overfishing, pollution, and climate change and which need to be protected for future generations.

The MaltaPost issue consists of two stamps. The first features the Smooth starfish (scientific name: Hacelia attenuate), known in Maltese as "Stilla lixxa", carries a denomination of 1.50 and was photographed by Prof. Alan Deidun of the University of Malta.

The second stamp shows the Common Octopus (scientific name: Octopus vulgaris), commonly referred to in Maltese as "Qarnita", carrying a denomination of 2.00 and was photographed by Pedja Miletic.

The smooth starfish, commonly found in Maltese waters, is an echinoderm belonging to the class Asteroidea. It is a marine invertebrate with five arms that radiate from a central disc. The upper surface may be smooth or granular and brightly coloured in various shades of red or orange. Starfish possess tube feet operated by a hydraulic system and a mouth at the centre of the lower surface
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The common octopus is a mollusk belonging to the Cephalopoda class. It is one of the most intelligent octopus species and is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and elsewhere. Octopus vulgaris grows to 25 cm in mantle length with arms up to 1 m long. It lives for 1-2 years and may weigh up to 9 kg. At dusk, it hunts crabs, crayfish, and bivalve mollusks and can change its colour to blend in with its surroundings.