This paper presents a review of the vagrant species recorded in different areas of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Seven bird species were observed at Elephant Island, King George Island and Nelson Island. Elephant Island was the area with the largest number of species recorded (N = 5). Among all the species observed in Antarctica, White-rumped Sandpiper and Cattle Egrets were the species with the most observations. There are different hypotheses used to explain the presence of vagrant bird species in Antarctica: (I) storms, irregular ocean currents, climate change and navigator errors can suggest why the birds are registered out of their usual areas of distribution; (II) changes in ocean currents may influence resource distributions and, consequently, influence bird distribution patterns. It is important to gather more information on bird species that are using new areas, to understand the diversity of birds in Antarctic regions, to characterize changes in migratory routes and to observe the responses of species facing global climate change.

The harpacticoid copepod, Nitokra affinis Gurney, 1927 was recorded from Vellar estuary (south-east India) for the first time. This species was consistently found in plankton samples collected during June and July, 2010. The samples were collected by the horizontal towing of a plankton net for 20 min. In this paper, we provide drawings and descriptions of Nitokra affinis and discuss the possible mechanisms of its introduction. We also compare a 769 bp sequence of its 18S ribosomal (r) DNA with already publicly available sequences, which is characterized as a meaningful barcode for the subspecies identification of Nitokra affinis in the future.

The occurrence of the rare serpent eel Ophisurus serpens is reported here for the first time from the Anatolian coasts of the South Aegean Sea. On 5 January 2015, a single specimen with a total length of 121. 2 cm and 363.14 g was collected by seine boat off Gökova Bay, Turkey. This finding shows that its population is expanding southwards, from Izmir to the Anatolian coasts of the Aegean Sea.

Starfish are echinoderms that live among corals and occur from the supra-littoral to the hadal zone. Deviation from pentamerism is a rare phenomenon in starfish and was observed in the red-knobbed starfish (Protoreaster linckii) collected from the Tuticorin coast, India. Eighty-five specimens were collected and, among these, one was found to be abnormal and had only four arms. The reasons for this abnormality may be due to the changes that occur during larval metamorphosis or caused by an abnormal regeneration of the arm.

Nephroselmis pyriformis (N. Carter) Ettl is reported for the first time from the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea coast. The species was isolated from the samples collected on 21 September 2013. The morphology of live cells is described based on light microscopy. Photographic and video images of the species are also presented.

The Risso's dolphins, Grampus griseus, are widely distributed, moderately large delphinids, inhabiting deep waters of the continental slope and outer shelf through the tropics and temperate regions. Until recently, their occurrence in the Western South Atlantic (WSA) ocean was poorly documented. This paper reports the first stranding record in the state of Paraíba (6°57′45″S 34°51′28″W), on the north-eastern coast of Brazil. Information on measurements, cause of death and the mapping of 46 records of G. griseus are provided. The data summarized in this report suggests that the distribution of G. griseus is continuous in the WSA, but with a higher frequency in colder waters further south. The available information for the WSA showed that negative interactions between Risso's dolphins and fisheries are more frequent in Brazil and need further investigation for conservation purposes.

A porbeagle shark Lamna nasus was found stranded at the sub-Antarctic Marion Island on 26 March 2014. The specimen, a sub-adult female, measuring 123 cm pre-caudal length, was photographically recorded and identified on the basis of its meristic traits. This observation is related to current information on the distribution of the species obtained from fisheries in the Southern Ocean and its feeding biology. The Onykia ingens squid specimen found in the specimen's stomach content matches the classification of porbeagle sharks as pelagic and demersal predators and adds to the cephalopod prey species list of the recently established Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area.

A total of 104 sharks were landed at fishing ports in the Malaysian South China Sea between 30 October and 24 December 2014, comprising the four families, Carcharhinidae, Hemiscylliidae, Sphyrnidae and Scyliorhinidae, and 11 of these shark species were examined. Measurements of size and weight were different and varied among species, ranging from 0.1 to 7.5 kg in body weight and from 31.1 to 105 cm in total length. Five of the 11 sharks, Carcharhinus sealei, Loxodon macrorhinus, Rhizoprionodon acutus, Hemigaleus microstoma and Sphyrna lewini, were in the range of, or even less than, the lengths of those measured at birth in previous reports. The results suggest that these sharks were born just before they were landed. Sphyrna lewini and H. microstoma are categorized as Endangered and Vulnerable species, respectively, and other sharks included in the landings are also categorized as Near Threatened. Thus, the current fishing methods could lead to critical levels of shark species in these waters, and even the future extinction of species. An improvement in the species selectiveness of fishing gear is needed to protect and conserve sharks in the area.

New records of fish species are reported from Papua New Guinea: Gymnothorax angusticauda (Muraenidae) from Madang, Coloconger scholesi Chan 1967 (Colocongridae) from Madang and New Guinea, Acromycter longipectoralis Karmovskaya 2004 (Congridae), Doryrhamphus melanopleura (Bleeker, 1858) and Festucalex gibbsi Dawson 1977 (Syngnathidae) from Madang, Lioscorpius longiceps Günther 1880 (Setarchidae) from Madang, Morobe and New Guinea, Neomerinthe megalepis Fowler 1938 and Pontinus rhodochrous (Günther 1872) (Scorpaenidae) from Madang and New Guinea, Parabembras curtus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843) (Parabembridae) from Morobe and New Guinea, Chrionema chryseres Gilbert 1905 and Pteropsaron levitoni Iwamoto 2014 (Percophidae) from Madang and New Guinea, Blenniella caudolineata (Günther, 1877) and Petroscirtes xestus Jordan & Seale, 1906 (Blenniidae) from Madang, Synchiropus orstom Fricke 2000 (Callionymidae) from West Sepik, Sandaun and New Guinea, Rexea antefurcata Parin 1989 (Gempylidae), Lepidoblepharon ophthalmolepis Weber 1913 (Citharidae), Engyprosopon macrolepis (Regan, 1908) (Bothidae), Aseraggodes kimurai Randall & Desoutter-Meniger 2007 (Soleidae), Cynoglossus bilineatus (Lacepède, 1802) and Symphurus multimaculatus Lee, Munroe & Chen 2009 (Cynoglossidae) from Madang and Tylerius spinosissimus (Regan 1908) (Tetraodontidae) from Morobe and Papua New Guinea. This papers also includes new depths records for Coloconger scholesi, Lioscorpius longiceps, Neomerinthe megalepis, Pontinus rhodochrous, Parabembras curtus, Chrionema chryseres and Synchiropus orstom.

We report the first record of the sea anemone Bunodosoma californicum on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, extending its southern distribution. Four specimens were collected from an artificial breakwater in Mata de Limón, Puntarenas. We present images of the live specimens and analyses of their cnidae composition.

Here we report two types of skeletal deformities, ‘pughead’ and ‘short-tail’, observed for the first time in the adult Atlantic goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). Photographic documentation of these deformities was made for only three individuals during our studies of their spawning aggregations. ‘Pugheadedness’ was documented in Brazil and Florida, and the ‘short-tail’ deformity was documented only in Brazil. Skeletal deformities are rare, have very low frequencies in wild populations and appear to be initiated during early development. There was no apparent effect of the condition on the adult goliath grouper, as they appeared robust and healthy.

We report, for the first time, the occurrence of the muzzled blenny, Omobranchus punctatus, on the coast of São Paulo, South-Eastern Brazil, partially filling a record gap within the species’ expected distribution in Brazil. One individual was found on 16 June 2014 in a sand-bottom tide pool of a tidal flat ecosystem, adjacent to the port of São Sebastião.

The marine gastropod Anachis aliceae (Pallary, 1900) is reported with certainty for the first time from the Algarve, south coast of Portugal from species-rich rocky priority biotope. Several live specimens of this species belonging to the Columbellidae family were collected and identified from by-catch samples, recovered from octopus traps set at depths between 50 and 70 m off Ponta da Piedade. Taxonomic validation of the newly recorded species is based on the comparison to other related species within the genus.

The megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, is a rare and poorly studied shark. In this paper, the first record of the megamouth shark is reported for Sri Lanka. The shark, a juvenile estimated at 180 cm in total length, was caught in a gillnet in close proximity (<92 km) to the Negombo fisheries harbour (7°12′11.67″N 79°49′44.35″E).

Southern range extensions of the tropical Australian heterobranch sea slug fauna may be symptomatic of climate change, particularly in south-eastern Australia, a recognized climate change hot-spot. In the Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern New South Wales, the presence of biogeographic mixing means that the southern coastal distribution limit of several tropical marine species and the northern limit of some temperate species overlap. During a year-long series of monthly surveys of sea slug communities on intertidal rocky shores, we observed four species beyond their previously recorded range – Colpodaspis thompsoni, Elysia pusilla, Phidiana bourailli and Herviella claror. The southern migration of species is an anticipated response to warming seas and we note an apparent extension of the southern limit for these taxa.

Beaked whales of the Family Ziphiidae are the least known of all cetacean families. Here, using mitochondrial DNA Control Region and Cytochrome B, and supported by morphological comparisons of skull and teeth, we identified a 4.6 m female beaked whale, stranded in Maco, Compostela Valley, Philippines on December 19 2012, as the Deranayigala's beaked whale, Mesoplodon hotaula. This is the first record of M. hotaula in the Philippines and only the eighth specimen in the world.

The present study was undertaken to obtain basic information on the diversity and trophic level of trawl bycatch fishes in Cuddalore and Parangipettai coastal waters, south-east coast of India. A total of 123 species of finfishes, belonging to 13 orders, 49 families and 82 genera were recorded in the trawl bycatch of Cuddalore and Parangipettai from January 2009 to December 2010. Among the orders, Perciformes dominated with 22 families, 40 genera and 66 species (53.6%), followed by Clupeiformes, of which there were four families, nine genera and 18 species (14.6%). Regarding the habitat-wise distribution, 50 species (40.6%) were reef associated, 43 (34.9%) were demersal, 19 (15.4%) were pelagic and 11 (8.9%) were benthopelagic. Considering the trophic levels, 5 (4.0%), 8 (6.5%), 41 (33.3%), 49 (39.8%) and 20 species (16.2%) were recorded in the trophic levels of 2.0–2.49, 2.5–2.99, 3.0–3.49, 3.5–3.99 and 4.0–4.5, respectively, in both the coastal waters.

Genetically verified catch data from fishers in eastern Indonesia provide new distribution records for the fossil shark Hemipristis elongata in the Halmahera, Seram and Arafura seas. Previously only recorded from the island of Java, this study reports a range extension for this species of >2000 km across the Indonesian archipelago, suggesting that fossil sharks are subjected to fishing pressure over a much larger geographic area than implied by previous species records. We recommend a review of the current species assessment to reflect the reported range extension and inform management of this fishery-targeted shark.

The redlip blenny, Ophioblennius atlanticus, is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, (central Mediterranean, Malta). The morphology of the fish and the sighting location are described here and the biogeographical relevance of the record discussed.