Several specimens of the pseudochromid Manonichthys alleni, with total length ranging from 45 to 60 mm, were observed at depths of 19–28 m in a coral reef in the Davao Gulf in the southern Philippines. Each specimen lived within a separate colony of the tubular sponge Callyspongia aerizusa. This constitutes the first record in the Philippine archipelago of a dottyback so far only known from Indonesian and Malaysian waters.

The twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago has a thriving yachting industry with numbers of leisure craft having increased 10-fold from 1980 to 2000. Being geographically outside of the hurricane belt, the islands offer a prime hurricane Caribbean shelter with excellent boating and repair facilities. The Chaguaramas coastline (on the north-west peninsula) has seven (7) anchorages. One of these (the Chaguaramas Bay) was the study site for a survey of hull foulers on recreational boats. In that survey, twenty-seven (27) recreational vessels were sampled for biofoulers, one group being the Tunicates (Ascidiacea). In Trinidad and Tobago little is known about these organisms. Of the eighteen species (18) collected, eight (8) were solitary species and ten (10) were colonial species. Their distribution (all species collected) is wide and they can be found throughout the western Atlantic, the eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. This survey is a preliminary one in terms of the ascidian fauna of Trinidad and represents only one (1) sampled habitat (boat hulls). There has however been a previous survey of the Tobago fauna. For completeness, there should be a full survey of the ascidians along Trinidad's coastline including their various habitats (rocky shores, mangroves, seagrass beds, etc.). These new data could be used to determine those species which occur in natural communities in Trinidad as compared with this survey (fouling community). In this paper these preliminary results are however used for comparison with the Tobago fauna.

The Indo-Pacific fish species Vanderhorstia mertensi was found, for the first time, off the Israeli coast in the Mediterranean. This shrimp-associated goby was reported so far only from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Its presence verifies the status of V. mertensi as an Erythraean alien.

The present study reports the first record of Herviella mietta from the Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean, more precisely from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The species is identified by colour pattern, morphological characters and microscopic investigation of the radula and the lateral denticles. The important diagnostic characters are the carrot-shaped cerata that are predominantly black in colour, black pigment on the body, and 8–9 denticles on each side of the small central cusp of each tooth.

The false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens is currently documented from only six eastern tropical Atlantic (ETA) range states, five of which are evidenced by strandings, by-catch or skeletal remains rather than at-sea sightings and consequently provide no information on habitat or behaviour. Here we report six false killer whale records from cetacean surveys carried out off Gabon (four records) and Côte d'Ivoire (two records) between 2002 and 2012, providing the first at-sea sightings in those two existing range states. All six sightings were located in continental shelf waters (≤103 m depth) and in relatively nearshore (mean = 13.9 km) habitat. Forty-three false killer whales were photo-identified during three encounters on the Gabonese shelf; seven individuals were matched between 2002 and 2006, including two individuals that were present during all three sightings. Observations included predation of Atlantic sailfish Istiophoms albicans and two occurrences in proximity to humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae. Whistles recorded during one sighting had simple structure, short duration and a mean fundamental frequency of 7.8 kHz. These are the first verified records of false killer whales using continental shelf waters in the ETA, indicating that the species occupies neritic habitat in the region in addition to its previously-documented oceanic habitat. The re-sightings of marked individuals between sightings and years suggest that at least some individuals exhibit a degree of site fidelity to Gabonese shelf waters. Further information on distribution, abundance, movements, population structure and mortality rates are required for effective management of the species in the ETA.

Medicorophium runcicorne is described from the Canary Islands. This is the first record of the genus from outside the Mediterranean and Black Seas. A key is provided to the species of Medicorophium.

The family Eulimidae comprises minute gastropods best known for its parasitic habit on Echinodermata. Despite this, reports of association between eulimids and echinoderms are rather scarce. In this study, two new hosts, Parathyone suspecta and Holothuria grisea, were observed for the eulimid Melanella eburnea. This is the first record for the latter species in Brazilian waters. In addition we observed the association between the eulimid M. hypsela and the holuthurian Isostichopus badionotus, which is a new record for Brazilian waters.

Fan worms (Sabellidae: Polychaeta) are known to inhabit deep-sea environments and some species have been reported from hydrothermal vents. However, this is the first record of a Bispira species from this environment. The specimens identified as Bispira wireni were collected at the Izena Hole, Okinawa Trough, Japan. We describe the specimens from this location and provide new insights about the morphological features of this species, previously reported from sediments at 150–300 m in Sagami Bay.

Six new records of hydromedusae are reported as secondary hosts of Opechona sp. (Lepocreadiidae) for the Brazilian coast. Among the 392 hydromedusae sampled, 43 (~11%) were harbouring metacercaria. Prevalence (P) and intensity of infection (I) of Opechona sp. varied considerably among the different host species. Gossea brachymera (Limnomedusae) was highly parasitized (P = 30%; I = 1–7), while the other five hydromedusae species were not (P = 1.5–10; I = 1–2). The high parasitism in G. brachymera suggests the importance of this species in the transmission of Opechona sp. to fish, the definitive hosts, and highlights the hydromedusae as a probable noteworthy food item for zooplanktivorous fish in the area.

Ocean sunfish from the genus Mola, family Molidae, are the world's heaviest bony fish, reaching 2500 kg, primarily on a diet of gelatinous zooplankton. Three molid species are reported to occur in the Galápagos archipelago: Mola mola, Masturus lanceolatus and Ranzania laevis. To date, no genetic analysis of any molid has been conducted in Galápagos. In October 2011, tissue samples were obtained from nine sunfish at Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela Island, genetically analysed and found to be Mola ramsayi—the southern sunfish. This marks the first record of M. ramsayi in Galápagos waters.

Neobythites stefanovi is recorded for the first time from Indian waters in the Gulf of Mannar. Two specimens were landed as by-catch in trawl gear at Tuticorin fisheries harbour, south-east coast of India, in March 2010. This is also the first record of the species outside the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden, in the western Indian Ocean.

The porcellanid crab, Polyonyx boucheti, previously known only from the Loyalty Islands in the south-western Pacific, is reported from the south-western Indian Ocean based on two specimens collected from Mayotte, Comoro Islands. The present material agrees well with the original description of the species in every diagnostic aspect. Polyonyx boucheti is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific as is its closest congener P. utinomii, although the records of the two species are very limited.

This is the first report about the arrival of the encrusting cheilostomatid bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata on floating seaweeds in German coastal waters of the North Sea. During summer 2012, drifting or stranded thalli of the non-indigenous brown macroalga Himanthalia elongata were investigated on the island of Helgoland showing numerous benthic species covering the holdfast of Himanthalia. Out of the 120 basal structures investigated, 8.3% had viable colonies of the invasive, non-native W. subtorquata attached to them. Himanthalia and W. subtorquata have both their nearest origin reported to be in the English Channel (La Manche), approximately 800 km away from Helgoland. Now we found W. subtorquata as a rafting species in the eastern part of the North Sea, showing its ability to distribute easily over very large distances using floating algae as a natural transport vector. This event might constitute the first step in the potential introduction of this alien species into German coastal waters.

The first records of Caranx ignobilis and Naso annulatus in the Galapagos Archipelago are reported based on several sightings from its northernmost island, Darwin. For C. ignobilis this also represents its first record from the Tropical Eastern Pacific region, considerably expanding its geographical distribution. Vagrant status is proposed for both species in the Galapagos shore fish list.

Four larvae of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) were collected during a larval survey for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in true inshore and shallow locations in the Norwegian fjord system Skjerstadfjorden. This observation contributes to the previous 57 larval specimens ever found for Atlantic halibut and is in accordance with earlier findings from aquaculture research on an ontogenetic change in phototaxi during larval development in this species. The catch sites indicate that shallow water in fjord systems may be of importance as nursery areas for early life stages of Atlantic halibut along the Norwegian coast.

Calappa karenae, is here documented from Loyalty Islands, Melanesia, based on a specimen collected in September 2011. This rare deep water box crab was previously known only from a pair of specimens collected in off Guam, Micronesia, a distance of 4000 km away.

Three marine hydroid species, Garveia grisea, Eudendrium glomeratum and Eudendrium merulum, widely spread and abundant in the Mediterranean Sea and with scarce records elsewhere, are reported for the first time from the Moroccan Atlantic coast. As part of a project studying the distribution of the hydroid assemblages from 0 to 30 m depth in the Strait of Gibraltar and the nearby area, the new records reported in the present contribution widen the known biogeographical distribution of these three species.

This paper reports on the first record of the hydroid Eudendrium carneum in India near Poshitra, on the coast of Gujarat. The hydroid was identified by its colony characters, reproductive structures, polyp morphology and nematocysts.

Several morphotypes of the relatively large bacterium, Epulopiscium sp. were collected from the intestines of three species of surgeonfish (genus: Acanthurus) from shallow waters around the island of St Thomas, in the eastern Caribbean Ocean. This was the first comprehensive study of any of these bacteria from the Atlantic Ocean. They were chemically fixed at the University on St Thomas Island, Virgin Islands and sent to the first author (J.N.G.). Each sample was examined under phase-contrast microscopy with a light microscope. Most cells contained two daughter cells that were very phase-bright; hence, were likely true endospores. They varied from very small, at the ends of the cell, to one-third the length of the cell length to overlapping at the centre. A few contained only one daughter cell or endospore. Based on their sizes, shape, and number of daughter cells, they best fit two of the morphotypes described previously.

Monotygma watsoni, a minute parasitic pyramidellid gastropod is newly recorded in the Mediterranean Sea from specimens recently collected off the Israeli coastline. The species, described and illustrated, matches the three syntypes of Ceratia watsoni collected in the southern Red Sea. The characteristic protoconch and teleoconch sculpture led us to assign it to Monotygma. It is the fourteenth Erythraean alien pyramidellid species recorded in the Levantine Basin. The large populations of a great number of Erythraean aliens in the Levantine Basin may serve as reservoir hosts for pyramidellids, many of which seem to be parasitic generalists, and may be introduced to native Mediterranean hosts.