Two specimens of the penaeid shrimp Penaeus aztecus, a West Atlantic species, were collected off Castiglione della Pescaia, Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. The species identity was confirmed based on morphological characters and by sequencing 510 nucleotides of the mtDNA 16sRNA gene. This alien species has been previously recorded off Turkey, Greece and Montenegro.

This paper reports seven species of opisthobranchs from the intertidal zone of the south Saurashtra coastline off the Arabian Sea, Kathiawar Peninsula, west coast of India. Field surveys were undertaken along the intertidal zones of south Saurashtra coast during 2012–2014. In this study, seven species belonging to six families were recorded, of which Haminoea ovalis, Flabellina bicolor, Phidiana militaris, Baeolidia palythoae and Sakuraeolis gujaratica are new records from this coastline.

We report the first record in the Mediterranean Sea of the minute Indo-Pacific venerid bivalve Costellipitar chordatum. The species has recently established a small population off the central coast of Israel. Numerous live specimens of Gouldiopa consternans, at several locations off the Israeli coast, confirm the presence of a fast growing population. This is the first record of the species from Israel, following a recent report from Turkey.

Within collections along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, two new species of Stenothoe (Amphipoda) were found. They were found to be living on sand or mud and probably licking the surface of grains.

We documented the existence of a population of the southern Caribbean pontarachnid mite Litarachna caribica for the first time on the Pacific coast of Panama. Based on morphological observations, this is the first record of a pontarachnid mite with a trans-isthmian distribution, which can be explained by either modern biological dispersal or historical vicariance hypotheses. Litarachna caribica had either passed through the Panama Canal, successfully colonizing the opposite coast, or previously continuously distributed populations had become disjunct after the rise of the Central American land.

In this study, we present descriptions, illustrations, comments, and bathymetric and geographic distributions of the brittle star species related to the estuary region of Camamu Bay, located in the State of Bahia, Brazil. The brittle star fauna lives on biological substrates, sand bottoms, mud and rubble in the Camamu Bay and comprises 12 species divided into five families. Almost all of them are common in the tropical and subtropical fauna of the regions of shallow water. Ophiophragmus filograneus is reported for the first time in Bahia, and nine other species are recorded for the first time in Camamu Bay: Amphipholis januarii, Amphipholis squamata, Ophiophragmus filograneus, Ophiostigma isocanthum, Ophioderma cinerea, Ophioderma januarii, Ophiactis lymani, Ophiactis savignyi and Ophiocoma echinata. The results suggest that the ophiuroid assemblages are strongly affected by marine currents as well as by different kinds of bottom substrate.

The amphipod, Ampithoe valida, presumably native to the Atlantic coast of North America, has been recorded from several other parts of the world. Hitherto, the only published records from Europe originate from Portugal. Evidence is presented that this species has been introduced to northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea as well.

In this paper, we record the occurrence for the first time of two sea cucumber species from the Persian Gulf (Hormuz Island). Sea cucumber samples were collected in the sub-tidal zone of the island during low tide. Species identification was accomplished using morphological keys and a review of their ossicles. The collected specimens provide evidence that Holothuria bacilli and Holothuria insignis are present in the Persian Gulf waters.

We report the first record of intersexuality in walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma (Pallas, 1814) caught in the Bering and Okhotsk seas. Prevalence of intersexuality was low (0.0003–0.0016%). We describe intersex gonads at the macro- and microscopic levels (using histological methods).

The porcellanid crab, Neopetrolisthes spinatus Osawa & Fujita, 2001, is reported from Rutland Island, south Andaman Islands. The specimen represents the first record of the poorly known species from Indian waters and was collected from a large sea anemone Heteractis crispa (Hemprich & Ehrenberg in Ehrenberg, 1834).

A scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini was observed opportunistically from a remotely operated vehicle 1 m off the seabed at 1042 m depth, during hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Ruvuma Basin off Tanzania. The observation, which occurred during night hours, is the deepest accurately recorded for this species and the first deep-water record for the Indian Ocean. The record adds support for the occurrence in deep water during night hours being a widespread and possibly common behaviour in this species, and further expands a small but growing literature that meso- and bathypelagic environments may be of greater importance to elasmobranchs previously considered to be primarily epipelagic.

A large well-established population of the grapsoid crab Percnon affine (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) was observed in the rocky low-intertidal zone of Chabahar Bay, along the Iranian coasts of the Gulf of Oman. This is the first record of P. affine from the northern Indian Ocean.

The first record of albinism in salema (Sarpa salpa (Linnaeus, 1758)) observed in Cabo de Palos, Western Mediterranean, is reported here. The adult specimen showed an overall lack of pigmentation, presented normally coloured eyes and a further local dyspigmentation, being, therefore, classifiable as a partial albino. No noticeable changes in size nor morphology were detected.

We report here, for the first time, the existence of a white colour morph Elacatinus figaro, an endemic threatened cleaner goby from the Brazilian Coast. The specimen from this study lived in a cleaning station along with other E. figaro. Records were made based on pictures and the specimen was collected and preserved for genetic studies. Although the strong bright yellow colour is of vital importance for attracting other fish to the cleaning station, we speculate that living alongside regular-coloured individuals can diminish the disadvantage of not having the flashy stripe.

The occurrence of Cavernularia pusilla is reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara, extending the range of the species in the eastern Mediterranean and providing the first report of the species from Turkish waters.

The caridean shrimp Bathypalaemonella serratipalma was photographed by a remotely operated vehicle at 1120–2223 m in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The shrimp was living on previously unreported host cnidarians of the families Isididae and Alcyoniidae, and a black coral (Antipatharia), as well as previously reported gorgonian hosts (Chrysogorgia and Iridogorgia spp.). We did not observe interactions between B. serratipalma and other invertebrates living on these hosts, nor did the shrimp occur on the same host cnidarians as the anomurans Uroptychus nitidus or Eumunida picta.

Jasus edwardsii and Jasus paulensis are two species of spiny lobster that are distributed across south-eastern Australia and isolated islands of the southern Indian Ocean, respectively. We present rare examples of abnormal reproductive morphology in both species. For Jasus edwardsii, this included a female lobster captured in South Australia, which, in addition to the normal pair of gonopores at the base of the third pair of pereiopods, also exhibited a second a pair of gonopores on the coxopodites of the fourth pair of pereiopods. In Tasmania, a male individual exhibited the specialized pincer on the right propopodite, normally only observed in females. The frequency of abnormal morphological reproductive characteristics appeared higher in Jasus paulensis. This included 14 individuals that exhibited a range of additional and abnormal gonopore locations in both males and females. We discuss the findings in relation to rare cases of gynandromorphism in crustaceans.

The deep-water mysid Ceratomysis spinosa Faxon, 1893, previously known from Panama, Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and Alaska, USA is reported for the first time off the western coast of Mexico, in the eastern Pacific. The specimens, a male of 27.5 mm in total length (TL) and five females of 28.5–34.5 mm TL, were collected between depths of 1296 and 1580 m. The telson is illustrated, showing numerous setae on the lateral margins, and longer, robust setae in the distal third and on the posterior margin.

We report the first mono-specific facies of Parazoanthus axinellae from the western Portuguese coast. The habitat was recorded using a MiniRov Observer on a large outcrop at ca. 55–60 m in the Luiz Saldanha Marine Park. A method to estimate the maximum uncertainty of the ROV position is illustrated and the occurrence of the facies is discussed.

The species Homostichanthus duerdeni and Anemonia sargassensis are recorded for the first time in the Mexican Caribbean. Homostichanthus duerdeni is taxonomically diagnosed, and images from living specimens, including external and internal features and cnidae, are provided. The extension of the geographical distribution range of A. sargassensis is discussed, as well as the taxonomic status of the previous records of actiniarians in the Mexican Caribbean. An updated list of sea anemones in the region is provided, comprising 15 species in 11 localities along the Mexican Caribbean.