High predation by the corallivore gastropod Jenneria pustulata was observed in July 2011 in a high-latitude reef at Bahía de Los Ángeles in the northern Gulf of California. Porites panamensis corals were infested by 15 to 40 sea snails per colony (22 ± 7.25 ind 0.1 m–2 of Porites surface). Coral colonies were 20–30 cm tall and the average size of the sea snails were 1.7 cm (SD ± 0.238, N = 152). These data indicate a change in the daily pattern of movement and feeding of the gastropod in this reef. Despite high density of J. pustulata on the reef, no soft corals were observed as damaged by the sea snail.

Since its first sighting in 2008 on the central part of the western coast of northern Cotentin, the marbled crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus has been regularly sampled in the sites where it was first reported. The presence of ovigerous females and juveniles confirmed the presence of a reproductive population in the English Channel. However, the absence of this species in other sites around the Cotentin, prospected for the survey of the progression of two invasive Hemigrapsus decapods is questionable. It is suggested that the species may have good abilities to colonize new areas, considering the larval dispersal with a long planktonic larval phase, but failed in this particular case, probably due to non-favourable conditions.

The spotted halfbeak Hemiramphus far (Osteichthes: Hemiramphidae) is recorded from Collo Bay (eastern Algeria), representing the second report of this species in the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea. The two specimens measured 25.9 and 29 cm total length and were captured by fishermen in December 2010. Morphometric characteristics are described. This species is the second lessepsian migrant fish reported from Algeria and the third one to be found in the western basin of the Mediterranean. The spread of the species through the Sicilian Channel is discussed.

The Caribbean gastropod species Thuridilla mazda was collected for the first time in eastern Atlantic shores, namely on the island of São Miguel, archipelago of the Azores. This new record raises the total number of opisthobranch species known in the Azores to 144 and shows the potential importance of the Gulf Stream for dispersal of Caribbean species across the North Atlantic and its putative impact on the marine colonization of the Azores.

Two rare species of xanthid crab (Brachyura: Xanthidae) are reported for the first time in the territorial waters of Pakistan. Odhnea echinus and Paraxanthodes cumatodes were collected from Sonmiani Bay, on the coast of Pakistan. These species are known from only a few specimens and localities globally. The male gonopods are figured for the first time for these two species, and updates on their taxonomy are also provided.

Lanternbellies (family Acropomatidae) are known for their ventral luminous organs. The family comprises 31 species from seven genera throughout the world. Out of seven genera, the genus Acropoma contains five valid species, all occurring in the Indo-Pacific area, of which only Acropoma japonicum was reported previously from Indian waters. The present paper reports the first ever sighting of Acropoma argentistigma caught off the east coast of India around the Digha coast in West Bengal. The species was earlier reported to be distributed in the Andaman Sea only. The report of Acropoma argentistigma in the area further enriches the ichthyofauna of the area and points to the need for further detailed studies for conservation initiatives with respect to such rare fishes.

The seas of tropical Australia are of global significance both environmentally and economically. Recent marine invertebrate surveys off the Western Australian coasts have revealed many new records and species. One of these is Podophthalmus nacreus, herein reported from within the Ningaloo Marine Park and thus representing the first record for this species from Australian waters.

In the present study, a centric diatom Chaetoceros minimus is reported for the first time from the Indian waters. This record will contribute to the phytoplankton checklist of Indian seas. Morphological characteristics and distribution of the species are provided.

This study investigated the occurrence of metazoan parasites of the parrot-fish, Sparisoma frondosum (Osteichthyes: Scaridae), captured from the coastal waters of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Using traps and motorized boats a total of 104 fish specimens were captured and their total length, body mass and gonad maturity stages were recorded. The fish samples were necropsied and the parasites encountered were carefully removed and quantified. The isopod Rocinela signata (Isopoda: Aegidae) parasitized 33.91% of fish, with a prevalence of 37.5%, a mean intensity of 2.58 and a mean abundance of 0.97 parasites per fish sampled. The site of parasitic infestation was the gill chambers of the hosts. This is the first record of R. signata parasitizing S. frondosum from the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

A specimen of West African fiddler crab, Uca tangeri, was collected in October 2011 on the north-east coast of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). This species is frequent along the shores of the east Atlantic from Portugal to Angola, but is very rare in the Canary Islands. There is only a previous record from 1971, but that did not report the place where it was found in the archipelago.

While short-beaked common dolphins are often regarded as highly mobile animals, their movements and ranging patterns are poorly known and no long-distance movements have been documented through photo-identification of individuals. We report the long-distance movement of a naturally marked individual, encompassing a minimum of 1000 km across the Ionian and the Adriatic Seas, and the subsequent behaviour and site fidelity of the same individual, in association with a calf, in and around the commercial port of Monfalcone, northern Adriatic Sea. This is the longest documented movement for any individual of this species, worldwide.

The occurrence of the rays belonging to the genera Mobula (known collectively as the ‘devil rays’) and Manta is poorly documented in the eastern tropical Atlantic. Between August 2004 and September 2005, a total of 28 mobulid ray observations were recorded from geophysical survey vessels operating in the waters between Gabon and Angola. Water depth at the location of the sightings varied from 30 to 4000 m, reflecting an occurrence in both neritic and oceanic habitat. While most animals were unidentified to species level, photographs taken during two sightings facilitated the identification of two separate species/species groups of Mobula. The first individual, photographed at the surface in deep water offshore of northern Angola, was identified as belonging to the M. mobular/M. japanica species group, comprising two species that are very similar in appearance and which future evidence may reveal to represent a single species. The second animal, photographed off Pointe Noire in the Republic of the Congo, was identified as a bentfin devil ray (M. thurstoni). The previously documented southernmost records of these species in the eastern tropical Atlantic were in the Mediterranean Sea (M. mobular), Côte d'Ivoire (M. japanica) and Senegal (M. thurstoni). These observations therefore extend the known distribution ranges into the south-east Atlantic Ocean.

We report the occurrence in the inner fishing port of the Málaga harbour (southern Spain) of an established population of the gastropod Marginella glabella, native on West African Atlantic coasts of Morocco to Senegal and also present at the Canary Islands. This is the third gastropod species with a tropical Atlantic origin found as an established population in the Mediterranean. In spite of its presumably scarce self-dispersal ability due to its direct development, it should be considered an invasive species since it is potentially able to spread out from the area currently occupied and preys voraciously on autochthonous gastropods. It is suggested that this species was introduced during the 1990s as within port discarded by-catch of Málaga-based trawlers, which at that time were fishing on the Atlantic coast off Morocco and the Canary–Saharian bank.

During fieldwork at the Abrolhos reefs (north-east Brazil) the whitespotted filefish Cantherhines macrocerus was observed predating a reproductive colony of the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum. Several fresh bite marks observed in the colonies suggest that other individuals and probably other species were also feeding on the zoanthid. This is the first record of predation on this zoanthid during its reproductive stage. Since P. caribaeorum contains anti-predation chemical defences, we discuss that the presence of egg-bearing polyps might increase the predator benefit in the predation trade-off, i.e. it might be more worthwhile to deal with such defences when the energy budget of eggs is also involved. Therefore, the reproductive stage of chemically defended organisms might shape the frequency and intensity of such interaction.

A spent Gonatus antarcticus female (mantle length 340 mm) was caught in Falkland Islands waters by a fishing vessel in November 2010. Squid genus Gonatus spawn at depths of >2000 m and findings of such females are rare all over the world. It is the third capture of a mature female of this species, and the shallowest capture for adult squids of the genus. Another G. antarcticus, an immature female, of the record size of 470 mm (mantle length) was caught in June 2011 in Falkland Islands waters, also by a pelagic fishing vessel.

In summer 2010, a systematic survey was carried out in the harbours of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea) and Olbia (western Tyrrhenian Sea) with the aim of studying alien species in Italian commercial harbours. Biological samples were collected by replicate scraping on the concrete walls of docks at the beginning and at the end of the summer season. Identification to species level revealed the presence of Tricellaria inopinata, an invasive alien cheilostome bryozoan of Pacific origin, first introduced to Europe in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) in 1982. Thereafter it has been reported in other ports in Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Massachusetts (USA). Its finding in the harbours of La Spezia and Olbia represents the first record of the species in the Ligurian Sea and in the western-central Tyrrhenian Sea, respectively. Commercial harbours are common sites of biotic invasions due to the presence of the most important vectors of alien species introduction, namely aquaculture, and shipping. The occurrence of T. inopinata in the harbours of La Spezia and Olbia is discussed, taking into consideration possible pathways of introduction into the western Mediterranean Sea, which very likely is the transfer of molluscs from the northern Adriatic (namely the Lagoon of Venice).

The capture of two Gorgona guitarfish, Rhinobatos prahli, in the Gulf of Tehuantepec represents the first record for the species in Mexican waters and its northernmost range extension in the eastern Pacific.

Although there are a number of marine organisms located from various parts of the world, little information exists from Iranian coastal waters regarding the distribution of ascidian species. Hence, the present study attempts to describe the presence and distribution of Phallusia nigra from the four different stations along Persian Gulf coastal waters. The current study is the first record of the ascidian P. nigra off the Larak Island, Hengam Island, Qeshm Island and Bandar-e-Lengeh along the Iranian coasts of the Persian Gulf.

Two Achirus mazatlanus with record lengths of 218 and 230 mm total length were observed, a 12 and 24 mm increase over the previous mark for this species.

Fifteen crustacean species including three stomatopods, ten decapod crabs and two palinurid lobsters, are new records from the southern Brazilian coast (27°15′S 48°25′W). All the species had their geographical distribution expanded, highlighted by particularly the mantis shrimp, Neogonodactylus torus (Manning, 1969), which was found more than 1100 km from its previous southern limit and the crab Dromia gouveai Melo & Campos, 1999, which was recently described but not found continuously along the Brazilian coast. These new records reflect the current gap in baseline studies for marine crustaceans in this area, and contribute towards the biogeographical knowledge about this group in the South Atlantic Ocean.