Here we report two new records of a naticid and strombid species from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In addition, we also provide an updated checklist of Naticidae and Strombidae species that are known from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands based on available literature and holdings at National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India.

Lissoclinum midui was collected from Lyudao (Green Island), Taiwan. This is the first record outside of the type locality, Kumejima Island (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan), of this species. The colonies in Lyudao were found on non-geniculate coraline algae covering the coral limestones in the reef crest (0.5–1 m deep). They were not rare at the collection sites, and it is uncertain why this species has only been recorded in the two sites in Taiwan–Ryukyus. It may be that the shallow, wave-exposed reef crest is a poorly investigated habitat for small benthic invertebrates.

The blue and yellow damselfish Chromis limbaughi is a species protected by the Mexican federal government due to its commercial relevance as an aquarium fish. In this paper we present new records of the species at 17 locations north of its accepted northernmost distribution limit. Because of the abundance, relative occurrence, and the presence of adults and juveniles in the new sites, these might represent reproductive populations. It is probable that the species has settled successfully there in recent years by taking advantage of the warming of the region reported in the last decade.

We report the sighting of bonnethead shark Sphyrna tiburo juveniles <60 cm total length (LT) after more than two decades of apparent absence in Todos os Santos Bay (Brazilian eastern coast). A total of 8 specimens were collected on the Paraguaçu estuary during a Long Term Fish Monitoring Programme. The LT, total body mass and stomach contents are reported. Relevance for nursery areas to this threatened species is also discussed.

Two species of Champsodon (Champsodontidae)—C. vorax and C. nudivittis were collected for the first time from the northern Arabian Sea at a depth of 282–393 m. This finding significantly expands the known distribution of the two species and supports the suggestion that the recent finding of both species in the eastern Mediterranean is due to their migration through the Suez Canal.

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a rarely sighted cetacean species that is currently believed to be confined to tropical and subtropical waters. This paper presents four sightings off the east coast of Australia that are believed to be the most southerly sightings of pygmy killer whales worldwide (approximately 37.31°S) and extend the range of this species into temperate regions of Australia. Group sizes ranged from 20–70 individuals and on two occasions a second cetacean species was noted in the presence of the pygmy killer whales. All four sightings occurred when water temperatures were particularly warm for the area (21–25.8°C) and demonstrate the potential for changes in the strength of warm water currents to influence species distributions.

Records of long-finned gurnard Chelidonichthys obscurus in the western English Channel are rare. Prior to this study, reported incidences were largely restricted to the 19th Century and it appears to have been unrecorded in this well-studied ecosystem over much of the 20th Century. Data from a contemporary trawl survey in and around Lyme Bay (1989–2013) indicate that this species (N = 58) was only present during the period 2005–2013. These data and records from other surveys (N = 24) indicate a localized population may persist in an area just south of Start Point (64–77 m water depth), although it can occasionally occur in shallower inshore waters. A sub-sample of fish was collected to provide additional information on their morphometrics, meristics and diet. Meristic counts were generally in accord with earlier studies as were observations on their diet, which showed that they fed almost exclusively on crustaceans, especially mysids.

The velvet dogfish, Zameus squamulosus, is a poorly known deep water shark, known from the Atlantic, Indian, western, central and south-eastern Pacific Oceans. In this paper, the first record of the velvet dogfish, caught from the eastern North Pacific is reported. The shark, a male 533 mm in total length, was caught by bottom trawl at a depth of 770.7 m off Long Beach, California (33°43′15″N 118°32′14″W), USA.

The suctorian ciliates, Thecacineta cothurnioides and Trematosoma rotunda, belonging to the families Thecacinetidae and Acinetidae, were recorded as prominent epibionts on the cuticle of a marine free-living nematode, Chromaspirina sp. (Desmodoridae) from shallow sediments of the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal. The biometrics of these suctorians arecompared with literature data, and their species-specific association with nematodes is discussed.

Western Australia has an extensive coastline extending 12889 km (excluding islands) from latitude 35 degrees in the south to 14 degrees in the north. The extensive coastline intersects the distribution of many species of beaked whale. A total of 74 Ziphiidae were recorded as stranded along the Western Australian coast between 1940 and 2010 (70 years). Ten of the 21 species of beaked whales currently recognized taxonomically worldwide have been observed in Western Australia with True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus and Shepherd's beaked whale Tasmacetus shepherdi recorded more than elsewhere in Australia. Western Australia has the highest species diversity (10) of beaked whale strandings compared to other Australian states and regions. Gray's beaked whale, Mesoplodon grayi, was the most commonly reported species (33 records) and had the largest mass stranding group size (seven) of the beaked whales stranded in Western Australia. The records presented in this paper confirm the distribution of Arnoux's beaked whale Berardius arnuxii, strap-toothed beaked whale Mesoplodon layardii, Shepherd's beaked whale, Blainville's beaked whale Mesoplodon densirostris in Western Australian waters. The records presented of True's beaked whale confirm its presence in Australian waters, with Western Australia a possible key location for this species. Factors causing strandings and death should be investigated in future wherever possible, particularly the rostral injuries reported for six beaked whales. Beaked whale species identification should be confirmed through genetic analysis in future to maximize certainty of species identification.

This paper reports the first record of the narrowmouth catshark Schroederichthys bivius from the coast of Paraná State, southern Brazil, increasing its distribution along the Brazilian coast.

The foraminiferal test is one of the principal sources of CaCO3 in oceans. The principal habitats of Amphistegina include the Indo-Pacific islands and the Caribbean Sea. Although quite rare in the Aegean Sea Amphistegina lobifera is typical of various regions throughout the eastern Mediterranean and has also been reported from the middle and north Aegean Sea. But, on the south-western coast of Turkey it is found in extensive amounts, to such an extent that, it forms a 50 cm thick layer of sand and changes the benthic structure, as well as the ecology. Our results are based upon 12 samples from Üç Adalar (Antalya), and 13 samples from Beş Adalar (Antalya) collected from 4–30 m of depth. Each sample contains a high proportion of A. lobifera within the sediment. The exaggerated proportion of the A. lobifera test on the benthos points to certain conditions. Other benthic foraminiferans are not only scarce in genus and species number, but they are also found in very small populations. Even though there is no evidence of volcanic activity from west of the Gulf of Antalya, tectonic activity is present, resulting in formation of submarine springs which are located on the active faults. The presence of limestones with karstic characteristics in the Taurus Mountains combined with submarine springs cause salinity and temperature variations, as well as an increase in CaCO3 in the seawater. So alterations in the chemical and physical conditions of seawater may be responsible for this enormous expansion of the A. lobifera population.

A six metre adult male of the white shark Carcharodon carcharias was caught by demersal longliners operating off Dompu, Indonesia. The specimen was landed and sold at Tanjung Luar landing site in eastern Lombok. Photographic evidence for this specimen is provided and an upper lateral tooth was retained. This is the first confirmed record of the species in Indonesian waters.

This paper presents an inventory of the species of molluscs collected on the continental shelf and upper slopes (70–500 m depth) on the Pacific side of Colombia. In 2002, 39 trawl samples were taken on soft bottoms by the RV ARC ‘Malpelo’. Thirty-eight species of bivalves were collected, comprising living animals and dead collected shells. Information on abundance, Colombian distribution and depth range is provided. Thirty-four species represent the first records for the Colombian Pacific, significantly increasing the number of shelf and slope species known in the region.

This study presents the second worldwide report on abnormal embryos of the sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon, based on the two species (Rhizoprionodon porosus and Rhizoprionodon lalandii) occurring on the Brazilian coast. For R. porosus two conjoined twin embryos showing complete duplication of the vertebral column, viscera and several external structures (head, first and second dorsal fins, pectoral fins), and scoliosis in both axis at the pelvic fin level are reported. The three embryos of R. lalandii exhibited numerous lordosis and kyphosis along the entire vertebral column. The possible relationship between anomalies and the human major threats to sharks is discussed based on previous reproductive, genetic and ecotoxicological studies on R. lalandii for southern Brazil.

The presence of the fish species Iniistius pavo is confirmed in the Sea of Oman. One adult specimen (420 mm total length) was caught from the waters around the City of Muscat, Sea of Oman, giving a new ichthyofaunal record for the area and new maximum length for the species.

This is the first record of Grammonus robustus from Indian waters. Five specimens measuring 132–233 mm standard length were collected from the by-catch landed by a deep sea trawler from waters 150 to 200 m deep off the Tuticorin coast in the Gulf of Mannar. The detailed morphometric and meristic characters are compared to known G. robustus material.

The first observation of the common bobtail squid Sepietta oweniana has been made in the Barents Sea (Tromsø Bank; 70°54′N 19°46.8′E). It is the northernmost area of this species distribution. No changes were found in the reproductive system structure. But the food spectrum was changed, particularly, juvenile fish of the Lotidae family was found. The bobtail squid of the Sepiolinae subfamily have never been recorded as fish eaters previously. The expansion of boreo-subtropical species of cephalopods into the Arctic during the last decade can be divided into two groups: (1) a foraging migration happening relatively regularly; and (2) a range expansion due to the ongoing Arctic warming. The case of S. oweniana obviously belongs to the second group.

A sighting of four Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) was recorded and photographed close to the Benin coast on 3 November 2013. This is the first record of the species for Benin, and also represents the first verified record within a 3,065 km stretch of coast extending from Sierra Leone to Nigeria (encompassing the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea). The sighting supports the possibility that some other potential range states may have remained unconfirmed to date due to a paucity of field research in suitable nearshore habitat rather than an absence of the species.

Two species of limid clams, Acesta sphoni and Acesta mori, were observed and sampled from seven localities in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The two species are known to occur on seamounts and escarpments along the north-eastern Pacific margin of the United States. This report provides the first records of each species in the Gulf of California and the greatest depth records for both species. Though they occasionally overlap geographically, the two species are clearly stratified by depth, with A. sphoni occupying shallower and warmer, hypoxic waters, and A. mori occupying deeper and colder, oxic waters. The species are easily distinguished morphologically. The shells of A. mori have very fine radial ribbing for a smooth appearance and are more rounded and inflated, whereas those of A. sphoni are narrower and more elongate with 31 to 77 strong radial ribs. The largest individuals sampled were A. sphoni. For each species, DNA analyses revealed arrays of mitochondrial haplotypes similar to those found previously at north-eastern Pacific localities along the California, Oregon and Washington margins, providing no evidence for geographical subdivision throughout this newly extended range.