Capitulum mitella is a tropical/sub-tropical intertidal barnacle of high economic value. However, no studies have yet focused on the effects of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect the metamorphosis of this species. The current study stored cyprids at room temperature (24–26°C) and low temperature (7°C) and then compared the effects of age and storage temperature on cyprid metamorphosis. The effects of salinity and temperature on cyprid metamorphosis and survival were examined. Results showed the following. (1) Young 0-day cyprids were not competent to metamorphose, and C. mitella cyprids had a pre-competent phase. (2) The cyprid metamorphosis percentage at different storage temperatures with the same age was higher at room temperature than at 7°C. Low temperature storage of cyprids appeared to be unsuitable for C. mitella. The ideal storage time at room temperature for cyprids was 3–5 days. (3) The cyprids could complete metamorphosis at a salinity range of 20–45 mg l−1, and the optimum salinity range for metamorphosis was 25–35 mg l−1. At 15 mg l−1 salinity, the cyprids could survive but failed to metamorphose. (4) The cyprids could survive and complete metamorphosis at 18–36°C, and the optimum temperature range for metamorphosis was 21–33°C. The metamorphosis of C. mitella cyprids can tolerate a wide spectrum of salinity and temperature, which is related to the distribution location, habitat environment and lifestyle. Results of this study may provide a basis for the settlement biology, recruitment ecology and aquaculture of this species.

Naticids and muricids are the main drilling gastropod families that leave a characteristic hole in their shelled prey. Drilling predation can be evaluated along spatial scales, and different latitudinal patterns (equatorward, poleward, mid-latitude peaks or no trend at all) have already been described. For Argentine Patagonia, most studies have analysed muricid predation, but scant information is available on naticid predation. This study provides evidence of predation by the moon snail Notocochlis isabelleana on a thin and fragile burrowing bivalve, Darina solenoides, along the intertidal sandflats at Pozo Salado, San Matías Gulf, in northern Patagonia. To estimate the incidence of predation, articulated specimens of Darina solenoides (N = 432) were randomly collected in the intertidal zone. Drill holes (N = 94) were recorded in shell lengths ranging between 10 and 35 mm. Taking into account previous studies in the region, the intensity of mortality by drilling (22%) constitutes a higher value than expected for this latitude. These results may help explain local patterns in a particular site in northern Patagonia which has been previously identified as an outlier, but further studies aimed at evaluating macrogeographic patterns are necessary for a better understanding of the regional factors that might be governing these predator–prey interactions.

The poorly known sponge species Axinella vellerea (Topsent, 1904), Acarnus levii (Vacelet, 1960) and Haliclona poecillastroides (Vacelet, 1969) are reported from bottom-trawl samples off the Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean. A re-description is provided for all three species and the Folmer fragment of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) obtained for A. levii and H. poecillastroides. This is the second report of A. vellerea in the Mediterranean, the first time that A. levii is reported outside Corsica and the first time that H. poecillastroides is documented outside the Gulf of Lion, France. The systematic allocation of A. levii and H. poecillastroides is discussed based on a COI phylogenetic analysis and morphology. The poorly understood phylogeny of the Haplosclerida does not permit us to find a proper allocation for H. poecillastroides, although its current position in the genus Haliclona or the family Chalinidae is not defensible. On the other hand, A. levii currently fits best in the family Microcionidae, and seems related to some Clathria species with mixed features between Clathria and Acarnus. Considering that the species of the genus Acarnus shares a strong synapomorphy (the possession of Cladotylotes), it is plausible for all Acarnus species to be Microcionids. We conclude that H. poecillastroides needs to be reallocated to a new genus: Xestospongia poecillastroides comb. nov. (Petrosiidae). However, a reallocation of A. levii is not advisable for the moment, as this would imply major systematic changes such as the reallocation of the whole genus Acarnus to Microcionidae, and the redescription of Microcionidae and Acarnidae.

The nocturnal displacement to the water column of species hiding in the substrate during the day (so-called demersal migration) is a widespread phenomenon in coastal habitats. However, despite the relevance of these migrations to coastal ecosystem functioning, most of their ecological aspects are poorly understood. We aim to characterize spatial distribution patterns of demersal amphipods by comparing samples collected by light traps deployed both at rocky and nearby sandy areas. Dispersal abilities of such species were explored by considering two spatial scales of separation between rocky and sandy substrates: (1) <100 m and (2) >1 km. A total of >45,000 amphipod specimens were collected in the water column during the whole study, belonging to 50 species. The numerically dominant species were Guernea coalita, Bathyporeia cf. elegans, Perioculodes longimanus and Nototropis swammerdamei. The present study highlights the relevance of substrate type and study location on coastal demersal amphipod migrations. Amphipod assemblages were significantly different in the water column above rocky and sandy bottoms, even at a small spatial scale. Species emerging from rocky bottoms tend to remain in the proximity of this habitat; they showed lower abundances in sandy areas located nearby and almost none of them reached distant sandy areas. In contrast, migrant species commonly found on sediment during the day were collected at higher abundances in light traps deployed above rocky bottoms. Although several factors (e.g. food availability, predation pressure) are proposed to explain these patterns, the purpose of this horizontal migration remains unknown.

Rhamphobrachium (Rhamphobrachium) agassizii is reported from the Cantabrian Sea, Spain, from depths of 925–1207 m. This is its first record off the Iberian Peninsula and in European waters, representing its northernmost distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean to date. Previous reports of R. (R.) agassizii from the eastern and western North Atlantic demonstrate its apparent amphi-Atlantic distribution, which appears consistent with the distribution of the main Atlantic currents. It is a typical deep-water species with its deepest record at 2165 m from the Azores archipelago. The specimens were collected singly at two stations, attesting to the rarity of the species in contrast to its congener R. (Spinigerium) brevibrachiatum which was the most dominant polychaete species in a previous study.

As predators, Naticidae (Gastropoda) can shape marine soft-sediment communities. Thus understanding of the reproductive biology and development of moonsnails is of great importance. Most moonsnails lay large egg masses, known as sand or egg collars, which are freely distributed on sand or muddy sediments. Here we report upon the abundance of egg collars of two naticid species, Amauropsis islandica and Euspira pallida, from the high-latitude White Sea, as well as describe the morphology of egg collars and hatching success, with a brief description of juvenile feeding in A. islandica. While in the subtidal zone, the egg collars of E. pallida were 10 times more abundant than of A. islandica, the egg collars of the latter species were the only ones that occur in the intertidal zone. The morphology of an egg collar of E. pallida differed from the literature descriptions by having a plicated basal margin. The number of egg capsules inside the collars was twice as high in A. islandica compared with E. pallida, but they were smaller. Amauropsis islandica hatchlings were larger and hatching success was more than twice that in E. pallida. We suggest that these characteristics promote the high abundance of A. islandica populations observed on some tidal flats of the White Sea. Surprisingly, A. islandica juveniles could perform non-drilling feeding in the first month after hatching. This study fills the gap in the knowledge of naticid reproductive biology at high latitudes.

The Order Suberitida is defined as a group of marine sponges without an obvious cortex, a skeleton devoid of microscleres, and with a deletion of a small loop of 15 base pairs in the secondary structure of the 28S rDNA as a molecular synapomorphy. Suberitida comprises three families and 26 genera distributed worldwide, but mostly in temperate and polar waters. Twenty species were reported along the entire Brazilian coast, and although the north-eastern coast of Brazil seems to harbour a rich sponge fauna, our current knowledge is concentrated along the south-eastern Atlantic coast. A survey was implemented along the northern coast of Brazil, and the collection allowed the identification of six species belonging to the Order Suberitida. Two of them are considered new to science: Suberites purpura sp. nov., Hymeniacidon upaonassu sp. nov., and four, Halichondria (Halichondria) marianae Santos, Nascimento & Pinheiro, 2018, Halichondria (H.) melanadocia de Laubenfels, 1936, Suberites aurantiacus (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864), and Terpios fugax Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864, are re-described. Taxonomic comparisons are made for Tropical Western Atlantic species and type species of the four genera. Finally, an identification key for the Western Atlantic Suberites species is provided.

The continental shelf edge of the NW Gulf of Mexico supports dozens of reefs and banks, including the West and East Flower Garden Banks (FGB) and Stetson Bank that comprise the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). Discovered by fishermen in the early 1900s, the FGBs are named after the colourful corals, sponges and algae that dominate the region. The reefs and banks are the surface expression of underlying salt domes and provide important habitat for mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) and deep coral communities to 300 m depth. Since 2001, FGBNMS research teams have utilized remotely operated vehicles (e.g. ‘Phantom S2’, ‘Mohawk’, ‘Yogi’) to survey and characterize benthic habitats of this region. In 2016, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement proposed the expansion of the current sanctuary boundaries to incorporate an additional 15 reefs and banks, including Elvers Bank. Antipatharians (black corals) were collected within the proposed expansion sites and analysed using morphological and molecular methods. A new species, Distichopathes hickersonae, collected at 172 m depth on Elvers Bank, is described within the family Aphanipathidae. This brings the total number of black coral species in and around the sanctuary to 14.

Marine gastropods are consumed worldwide due to their nutritional quality, having important economic value in international markets. In the gulfs of Northern Patagonia (Argentina), marine gastropods are captured as complementary resources during bivalve artisanal fisheries. In this study, we determined the biochemical composition during the reproductive cycle of four edible marine gastropods abundant along the South-western Atlantic coast: Odontocymbiola magellanica, Buccinanops deformis, Buccinanops cochlidium and Trophon geversianus. All the studied species presented high protein (36–70.8%), low lipids (0.02–1.50%) and intermediate glycogen content (3.22–14.08%). The main oviposition season was during spring and summer. The mean nutritional values indicate that the species studied provide a good source of nutrients appropriate to the human diet, reaffirming their value as a commercial resource. Taking into account the nutritional contribution and the reproductive season, the best period for the capture of these resources is during summer for O. magellanica and T. geversianus, and during autumn for B. deformis and B. cochlidium. This work will help promote the consumption of Patagonian gastropods while ensuring their responsible capture, contributing to the sustainability of these valuable resources.

Morphometric analysis is one of the tools widely used to quantify, analyse and describe the variations in the biological forms of animals. In this study, we examined the linear morphometric variations of the shell of the small intertidal gastropod Echinolittorina lineolata and compared the patterns to identify variations among populations and between sexes. The individuals were collected from latitudes 3°S, 14°S, 21°S and 23°S along the Brazilian coast. Traditional morphometric analysis was performed, and the morphometric variables of the shells, namely, the length and width of the shell and the length and width of the shell opening were obtained. The observed size pattern was influenced by latitude, as well as by local spatial responses to factors such as the substrate changing the morphometric variables of the snail. Of the morphometric variables, the length and the width of the shell were the most representative variables that influenced the gastropods in the different latitudes. These variables were also different in males and females, with females having larger shell lengths and widths across all latitudes.

The coastline of the Korean Peninsula is influenced by three major oceanographic ecoregions, including the estuarine Yellow Sea ecoregion on the west coast, the warmer and saline East China Sea ecoregion on the south coast, and the cold East Sea ecoregion on the east coast. The influence of these marine ecoregions on the distribution of intertidal barnacles has not been extensively studied. The present study examines the biogeography of thoracican barnacles from intertidal and shallow subtidal zones, along the coasts of Korea. Twenty-one species in seven families were identified, including three species of coral-associated barnacles. Species composition varied significantly in the three marine ecoregions. Multivariate analysis showed barnacle assemblages were significant among the three ecoregions, although there are large overlaps of clusters between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea ecoregions. The estuarine species, Fistulobalanus albicostatus, occurred mainly in the Yellow Sea ecoregion; warm-water species, Tetraclita japonica, and sponge inhabiting barnacles Euacasta dofleini were observed in the East China Sea ecoregion; and cold-water species, Balanus rostratus and Perforatus perforatus, were found in the East Sea ecoregion. Four invasive barnacle species were recorded and the European barnacle Perforatus perforatus expanded its range northward from its recorded distribution nine years earlier. The cold-water species, Chthamalus dalli and Semibalanus cariosus, previously recorded in the East Sea ecoregion, were absent in the present survey. A trend of increasing seawater temperatures in Korean waters may have a significant impact on the distribution of cold-water species and enhance the northward invasion of P. perforatus.

Paratectonatica tigrina employs three predatory tactics against bivalve prey: wall-drilling, edge-drilling and non-drilling (suffocation) tactics. In this study, we conducted laboratory experiments to examine the predator–prey interactions between the naticid gastropod P. tigrina and two species of bivalve prey, Ruditapes philippinarum and Meretrix lusoria, and to investigate how predatory tactics differ for the bivalve species. Predation success increased with the shell weight ratio between predator and prey, however, there was no significant difference among prey species. The shell weight ratio significantly differed (P < 0.05) between predatory tactics against R. philippinarum, but not against M. lusoria, implying that P. tigrina determines its predatory tactics based on the shell weight ratio for R. philippinarum. However, we observed that feeding duration was not influenced by shell weight ratio or prey species, even though data were separated for each predatory tactic. These results suggest that there is no difference in feeding efficiency based on shell weight ratio between prey species and between predatory tactics. Paratectonatica tigrina may alter its predatory tactics suitably depending on the prey species and the relative size difference, despite the same feeding efficiency.

Abundant species are typically also viewed as ecologically dominant, and are frequently used to characterize the communities in which they live. Such characteristic assemblages may also be used as indicators of environmental conditions, such as relative stability. Fossil and modern turritelline gastropods are often the most abundant species in the marine assemblages and communities in which they occur, forming ‘turritelline-dominated assemblages’ (TDAs). We use data on modern Turritella bacillum from waters around Hong Kong as a case study to analyse fluctuations in abundance over 25 years. While turritellines were not always dominant in the area surveyed (~1650 km2), populations were notably persistent, and rebound after decline of abundances occurred within ~5 years at some sites. δ18O sclerochronology suggests that individuals were ~1–2 years old. It is also notable that T. bacillum was found to be abundant at salinities as low as 10–15 psu, despite the general characterization of turritellines as fully marine. Comparison with data on modern T. communis in the western English Channel corroborates this pattern, as localized sites of high abundance also appear transient. These results have implications for the interpretation of TDAs in the fossil record: they may signify the cumulative result of short-lived, spatially restricted populations, possibly resulting from essentially stochastic larval settlement. This suggests that the palaeoenvironmental setting of fossil TDAs does not always control their occurrence on short temporal scales.

The amphipod Ericthonius didymus Krapp-Schickel, 2013 is reported for the first time outside its type locality in European waters, from the French Atlantic coast and from the Azores, Portugal. In particular, a large population was recorded in Arcachon, France. Molecular analyses were made to confirm the validity of three closely related Ericthonius species: E. didymus, E. convexus and E. pugnax. An identification key is provided, distinguishing Ericthonius species into three groups, based on the presence or absence of stridulating ridges on coxa 2 and posterodistal lobe on basis of male pereopod 5.

Ocean warming and acidification are expected to influence the biology of the ecologically and economically important red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus. We investigated transcriptome responses of adult, larval and juvenile red king crab to assess sensitivity to reduced pH and elevated temperature. In adults, gill tissue (but not heart or cuticle) responded to reduced pH by differentially regulating many genes involved in metabolic, membrane and cuticular processes, but not ionic or acid/base regulation. In larval crabs, we found little evidence for a strong transcriptomic response to pH, but did observe large differences in the transcriptomes of newly hatched and one-week old larvae. In juvenile crabs, we found that there was a strong transcriptomic response to temperature across all pH conditions, but that only extreme low pH caused transcriptomic shifts. Most of the genes in juveniles that were differentially expressed were for cuticular and calcification processes. While inferences regarding the specific biological responses associated with changes in gene expression are likely to change as resources for red king crab genomics enabled studies continue to improve (i.e. better assemblies and annotation), our inferences about general sensitivities to temperature and pH across the life stages of red king crab are robust and unlikely to shift. Overall, our data suggest that red king crab are more sensitive to warming than acidification, and that responses to acidification at the transcriptomic level occur at different levels of pH across life stages, with juveniles being less pH sensitive than adults.

A new species of ampithoid amphipod, Sunamphitoe gigantea sp. nov., is described from Katsurakoi, Hokkaido, Japan. The new species most closely resembles S. eoa, but can be distinguished from it by the shorter flagellum of antenna 1, the maxilla 1 inner plate that bears two slender setae, the short dactylus of male gnathopod 2, and the presence of a group of long setae on anterior margins of pereopods 3 and 4 bases. Nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I obtained from the type specimens also differentiated this new species from the congeners. Ontogenetic morphological changes of the male gnathopod 2 are briefly discussed.

The alpha taxonomy of scaphopods is based mainly on the shell morphology, as it is for most molluscs. In the last three decades, the employment of morphometric variables of the shell in combination with statistics has considerably increased to aid species discrimination, but this has not been used above species level. In this study, a traditional morphometric approach was used to distinguish congeners, genera and families within the orders Dentallida and Gadilida. We studied 28 species of scaphopods from Brazil, belonging to 12 genera and five families. Twelve morphometric variables were measured, and a correlation test was done to select a set of variables without correlation as input data to perform a discriminant analysis. In the analysis of congeners, the discrimination power was high in both orders. Among the genera studied, the robustness of the analysis was drastically reduced in Dentaliida, while Gadilida maintained a high percentage of correct classifications. At the family level, both orders presented high percentages of correct classification, but the imbalance of cases for each taxon masks an inconsistent result. Based on our results, the morphometric approach was a useful tool to discriminate congeneric species of both orders and to discriminate the genera of Gadilida.

Since 2012, when Ophiothela was first described in the Atlantic, there has been no consensus regarding its identification. It has been described as O. mirabilis, O. cf. mirabilis, O. danae, or only Ophiothela sp. In order to fill these gaps, our aim was to test if specimens from Brazil are Ophiothela mirabilis and/or Ophiothela danae. Syntypes from the Museum of Comparative Zoology and United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, were used. We examined species boundaries of the small six-rayed brittle star Ophiothela using independent character sets utilizing morphology (external morphology and morphometry) and molecular data (16S and COI). Concordance was found between the analyses indicating that Ophiothela sp. from Brazil (BR), Ophiothela mirabilis and Ophiothela danae are closely related. We suggest that O. danae should be considered as a junior synonym of O. mirabilis. A detailed description of O. mirabilis BR is presented using external morphology and microstructural ossicles (arm plates, vertebra, dental and oral plates). This description includes new diagnostic features, particularly regarding its microstructures: (i) transspondylous articulation (first record in Ophiotrichidae); (ii) eight smooth knobs on the dorsal surface of the vertebrae (to date only in Ophiothela); (iii) vertebrae with distal keel divided into two separate end processes matching the two large dorsal grooves proximally (first time in the literature); and (iv) an opening on both sides of the oral plate (as seen in other fissiparous species Ophiactis savignyi and Ophiocomella ophiactoides).

This work aimed to test whether the colour variability featured by the European nudibranch Polycera quadrilineata is consistent with the concept of a single polychromatic species or may hide multiple lineages. Samples from across the geographic range of P. quadrilineata together with representatives from worldwide species with a focus on Atlantic diversity, were gathered and studied using an integrative taxonomic approach. Morpho-anatomical characters were investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Bayesian molecular phylogenetics using MrBayes, the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery species delimitation method, and haplotype network analysis using the PopArt software were employed to help delimit species using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). The results supported the existence of a second species, here described and named Polycera norvegica sp. nov., only known from Norway where it is sympatric with P. quadrilineata. The COI uncorrected p-genetic distance between the two species was estimated at 9.6–12.4%. Polycera norvegica sp. nov. differs by exhibiting a black dotted or patchy dotted pattern occasionally with more or less defined orange/brown patches, but never black continuous or dashed stripes as in P. quadrilineata. The two species share a common colouration with a whitish base and yellow/orange tubercles. Anatomically, P. norvegica sp. nov. has a weaker labial cuticle, a smaller radula with fewer rows, and only four marginal teeth, a reproductive system with a single lobed bursa copulatrix, shorter reproductive ducts, and a penis armed with two kinds of spines: needle-like and hook-shaped penile spines.

Introductions of predators can have strong effects on native ecosystems and knowledge of the prey size selection of invasive predators is pivotal to understand their impact on native prey and intraguild competitors. Here, we investigated the prey size selection of two invasive crabs (Hemigrapsus sanguineus and Hemigrapsus takanoi) recently invading European coasts and compared them with native shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) which are known to feed on similar prey species. In laboratory experiments, we offered different size classes of native blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to different size classes of the crab species in an effort to identify the respective prey size preferences and potential overlap in prey size range of native and invasive crabs. In all three species, the preferred prey size increased with crab size reflecting general predator–prey size relationships. Prey size preference did not differ among the crab species, i.e. crabs showed similar mussel size preference in relation to carapace width. Given that additional morphological measurements showed that both of the invasive crab species have much larger claws relative to their body size compared with the native species, this finding was surprising and may relate to differential claw morphologies or structural strength. These results suggest that the invasive crabs exert predation pressure on the same size classes of native mussels as the native crabs, with potential effects on mussel population dynamics due to the high densities of the invaders. In addition, the overlap in prey size range is likely to result in resource competition between invasive and native crabs.