The sighting of the brush-clawed shore crab Hemigrapsus takanoi on the western coast of northern Cotentin confirms the extension of this species into the western part of the English Channel. This new sighting remains enigmatic because the Normanno-Breton Gulf circulation patterns do not appear to promote natural transport of crab larvae from the Atlantic or from the eastern part of the English Channel. It has been suggested that the professional oyster transport could be the origin of this species' presence on this part of the French coast.

A silver pomfret, Pampus argenteus (23.2 cm total length, 18.0 cm standard length, 325.1 g) was caught by a commercial trawler in the North Sea (at ~55°23′N 04°22′E) on 15 July 2009. This is the second capture reported from the north-eastern Atlantic and the third ever reported from European waters.

Larval stages of protozoeas II and III and zoea I of Aristeus antennatus were found in low numbers near the red shrimp fishing grounds off the Balearic Islands. The discovery of the larvae in the upper water layers has led to a proposed model of reproductive dynamics, in which newly hatched larvae perform an ontogenetic migration up through the water column to surface waters, where the larval stages develop. Data on the horizontal distribution of larvae presented, can contribute to an understanding of the dynamics processes of larval dispersal of the zoeal stages.

In 1995, a complete survey of the fish collection in the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) Museum (Galápagos Islands, Ecuador) was undertaken. Five specimens represented possible new records to the archipelago, but insufficient material was available at CDRS to confirm identification. On 5 November 2007, the specimens were removed from the CDRS fish collection under licence from the Parque Nacional Galápagos (PNG) on loan to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (LACM). Identification of all species was confirmed using comparative LACM voucher specimens, including X-rays, scientific keys and other resources, which were, at the time, unavailable to scientists at the CDRS. Four of the five specimens were incorrectly identified in 1995, the fifth, the golden trevally, Gnathodon speciosus, is the first confirmed record of this species for the Galápagos. One of the originally mis-identified specimens, the longnose anchovy (Anchoa nasus), proved to be A. ischana (sharpnose anchovy), and A. nasus can now be eliminated as a verified record from the islands. The first confirmed record of the sharp-tail mola, Masturus lanceolatus, for the archipelago is also presented based on photographic and video evidence. The first physical evidence of the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, in the Galápagos Archipelago based on discovery of a tooth and C14 analysis, is presented.

This study defined the body weight/length relationship and an equation for body mass estimation using morphometric measurements on Amazonian manatees Trichechus inunguis (Mammalia: Sirenia). Total length (TL), maximum girth (MG) and body mass (M) were obtained from 91 captive Amazonian manatees (46 males and 45 females) of different ages, and TL and M were obtained from eight free-ranging Amazonian manatees (6 males and 2 females). The data were analysed by linear and multiple linear regressions. The maximum length and mass measured were 266.5 cm and 379.5 kg, respectively. The equation for body weight/length relationship was M = 0.00001070 * TL3.122 (r2 = 0.984) (Equation I) and no differences between sexes and between captive and free-ranging animals were found (P > 0.05). We calculated two more equations for mass estimation (Equation II: M = 0.00003284 * TL1.857 * MG1.106, r2 = 0.992; and Equation III: M = 1.506 + 0.00003477 * TL * MG2, r2 = 0.995), and the best equation (high correlation coefficient and low percentage of residues) was Equation III. Equation I provides the body condition of manatees, whereas Equation III is more accurate for estimating body mass. Both equations are important tools for management of captive and free-ranging Amazonian manatees.

In the present study gut type was described and intestinal indices (i.e. mean gut length, relative gut length and Zihler's index) were estimated and compared for 58 fish species from the North Aegean Sea. A strong relationship between gut length (GL) and total length (TL) (significant relationships (P < 0.05) for 52 species) was found, whereas the hypothesis of the allometric growth of GL with TL was confirmed for 27 out of the 52 species. For the same TL, GL differs for species with different feeding habits (in omnivores > carnivores), as previously reported. Finally, for the same TL, GL also differs for species with different habitats (reef-associated > pelagic > benthopelagic > demersal) and gut types (Z-shaped with multiple loops > looped Z-shaped > Z-shaped >straight > convoluted > short with spiral valve).

On 30 September 2007, one specimen of Chili sea catfish Notarius troschelii was collected by a shrimp trawler on the continental shelf of the Mexican State of Nayarit. The fish, with a total length of 706 mm and a weight of 3910 g, constitutes a new record of maximum length and weight for this species.

The rare deep-sea family Bathypalaemonellidae is known from a small number of specimens and includes two genera. The deep-sea coral reefs are important habitats that aggregate the fauna, acting as feeding and reproduction sites for many species. Bathypalaemonella texana was previously recorded only from the type locality (Gulf of Mexico). This is the second global record of this species and the first record of this rare species in the south-western Atlantic (Brazil). It was collected in a deep-sea coral reef habitat.

Six additional specimens (56–330 mm DW, 152–558 mm TL), including two embryos, of Brazilian deep-water skate, Rajella sadowskii, were used to supplement the original description which was based on eight specimens. The original description is considered sufficient, however, the range of some characters are enlarged, including some diagnostic measurements and counts characters. The description of adult fresh specimen, embryos, egg capsules, scapulocoracoid and the pelvis of this species are reported here for the first time, all collected on the Campos Basin off south-eastern Brazil, at depths from 1067 to 1353 m.

Savalia savaglia (Anthozoa: Zoantharia) is an uncommon, large, arborescent, modular species best known from the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and recorded recently from the Canary Islands. During dives in the Ría de Arousa (Galicia, north-western Spain, north-eastern Atlantic), four colonies were seen at a depth of 26–29 m, and identified by morphological study, including the cnidome, and DNA sequencing. These new records extend considerably the distribution of the species. Given that S. savaglia lives in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooked old records from the literature further north from the Bay of Biscay may be reliable.

The white shark is known to inhabit the Gulf of California, but few published records exist for the most frequent localities of captures or sightings of this protected and relatively uncommon shark in Gulf waters. We have compiled and here report 38 records of white shark captures and reliable sightings for the Gulf. Records include individuals caught as by-catch by shrimp trawlers and gill-nets, and several sightings by divers or at fishing camps with corroborating photographs or sets of jaws (teeth). The main locations of occurrence were El Golfo de Santa Clara (13 records), followed by Santa Rosalía (4), and San Pedro Mártir and San Pedro Nolasco Islands (3 each). Presence of juveniles (<300 cm total length) was highest from January to May (10 records); whereas in July and October only two juveniles were recorded. Adults were more common from December to May (8 records); whereas from June to October there were fewer (5). Human induced threats and conservation of the white shark in the Mexican Pacific are briefly discussed.

In this work, we report for the first time the presence of the amphipod Perioculodes aequimanus from the north-east Atlantic. Specimens were collected in Zostera meadows located in the O grove inlet (north-western Iberian Peninsula), where the species is well established and is one of the numerically dominant peracarid species. Some morphological differences were found in comparison to Mediterranean individuals but those are regarded as due to intraspecific variation. This species can be distinguished from other Atlantic species according to the features of the propodus of the first gnathopod, the first coxa, the pereiopod 7 basis and the antennal peduncle.

An individual of the cowtail stingray (Pastinachus sephen) was identified at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia as having a high number of parasitic leeches and gnathiid isopods primarily inhabiting its mouth, jaw and gills. It was underweight for its length and disc width when compared with other individuals of this species and its stomach was bloated and empty. It is proposed that the high density of these parasites directly led to the physical degradation and bodyweight of this individual. In addition to observing two previously undescribed hosts from this location, this is also a new locality record for this species of parasitic leech in Western Australia.

The rare ophiuroid Ophioderma vansyoci was collected at Las Animas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. This is the first record of this brittle-star from the Gulf of California. This locality is a shallow area of a seamount in the Baja California Seamount Province.

Recent collection of the red alga Gloiocladia furcata from the north-eastern Atlantic coast of Spain has shown that this species does not only inhabit the Mediterranean as was previously thought. Here we present the first record for the Spanish Atlantic coast and moreover we show that the vegetative and reproductive structures of Atlantic specimens are similar to those of Mediterranean G. furcata. We review the herbarium material collected during the late 19th Century from the French Atlantic coast and discuss the presence of this species along the European Atlantic coast. The geographical distribution of this species on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts is reported.

This paper reports on four banded butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus cleaning a juvenile green turtle Chelonia mydas in a rocky shore located at Baía de Todos os Santos, Bahia State, north-east Brazil.

The occurrence of benthopelagic fish, Neobythites multistriatus, off Mangalore, India, in the Arabian Sea, which is hitherto not recorded from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India, is reported. The results of the comparison of meristic and morphometric characters with the holotype and paratypes of the species are presented. Neobythites multistriatus is closely related to N. fasciatus in terms of two opercular spines and several vertical bars on body ending as ocelli or dark blotches on dorsal and anal fin. However, it differs from the latter by having 11–13 long rakers versus 8–10 and anterior ocellus in front of line versus posterior to line. The occurrence of this little known benthopelagic fish further adds to and strengthens the rich deep sea ichthyofaunal biodiversity of the EEZ of India, which is hitherto not fully known.

The lemonpeel angelfish (Centropyge flavissima) was recorded for the first time at Lord Howe Island, Australia, whilst SCUBA diving at 20 m depth on 26 March 2009. This represents a southward range expansion of more than 1000 km for this coral reef fish into temperate waters. The range expansion was probably facilitated by the dispersal of larvae from the southern Great Barrier Reef via the southward flowing East Australian Current and enhanced overwinter survival due to rising sea temperatures.

Recent sampling surveys (2004–2008) of the shallow (12–20 m) soft-bottom homogeneous fine-sand community have allowed the collection of 55 marine amphipod species (53 Gammaridea and 2 Caprellidea) along the 250 km of Iberian Peninsula east coast (Spain, Mediterranean Sea). Among the species recorded, one recently described is new to science, five were collected for the first time in the Spanish Mediterranean and 14 were recorded for a second time confirming their presence. Of these 20 species; six are considered to be endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, seven are also north-eastern Atlantic species, and the last seven have a wide geographical distribution in the Indo-Pacific or Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans. Finally, multivariate analyses of species distribution showed changes among locations according to the north–south axis and depth, parameters that highly influence the benthic communities.

We found viable non-culturable (VNC) Vibrio cholerae O1 attached to the cell envelope of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. The significance of this find lies in the fact that N. scintillans could be a reservoir organism of VNC forms of V. cholerae in inter-epidemic periods, particularly when the extensive geographical distribution and the frequently high abundance of this dinoflagellate in marine environments is taken into account.