A population of the non-indigenous polychaete Branchiomma luctuosum, has been detected in Valencia Port (western Mediterranean Sea, Spain), representing the most western record of this species in the Mediterranean Sea and the first record from the Iberian Peninsula, as its original distribution is Indo-Pacific (Red Sea). It was found in both hard and soft substrates, grouped in small aggregates or isolated specimens. The observation of uncini using a SEM shows three rows of a few small teeth surmounting the main fang. This species was also compared with its congenerics recorded in the Mediterranean Sea, and its possible vector of introduction is discussed.

This study tested the association between variation in precipitation and behavioural seasonality in Sotalia guianensis, at the Curral inlet (6º13′00″S 35º3′00″W) in north-eastern Brazilian coast. From October 1999 to September 2003, observations were carried out four days a month. Behaviours were registered instantaneously each five minute interval. The observation period consisted of six hours into the daytime (0600 to 1700 h). Two observers inspected the area simultaneously, from a fixed location at the top of the cliff. During June to November, socialization (MdJN = 1.524; MdDM = 0.667; U = –2.848; P = 0.004) and forage (MdJN = 3.268; MdDM = 1.762; U = –2.881; P = 0.004) were significantly higher than from December to May, although the number of individuals (MdJN = 6.000; MdDM = 5.000; U = –1.395; P = 0.163) did not change over the year. Such behavioural seasonality was not associated with dry/rainy periods (number of individuals: MdRS = 5.000; MdDS = 6.250; U = –1.672; P = 0.095; socialization: MdDS = 0.947; MdRS = 1.464; U = –0.858; P = 0.391; and forage: MdDS = 3.017; MdRS = 2.292; U = –1.506; P = 0.132). These results support behavioural seasonality in an equatorial odontocete population.

Three specimens of Atlantic starfish, Asterias rubens are here reported as the first record from the Black Sea. After being first reported from the Bosphorus Strait in 1996, this alien starfish has invaded the Sea of Marmara and is now extending its range of distribution to the Black Sea.

The marine biota of the Sinop coast of Turkey (southern Black Sea) was studied by SCUBA diving during 2005 and 2006. During this study one species was found that has not been previously reported in Turkish Black Sea waters, namely Stereoderma kirschbergi, which is here documented.

A ribbonfish caught by a long-liner operating on the Portuguese continental slope was identified and assigned to the genus Trachipterus. However, the identification keys available were inappropriate to proceed with species identification. The specimen possessed diagnostic characteristics common to the two species occurring in the north-eastern Atlantic, Trachipterus trachypterus and Trachipterus arcticus. This problem was resolved by counting the vertebrae using X-ray analysis, since the ranges of the number of vertebrae are quite different for the two species. Based on this, the specimen was clearly assigned to Trachipterus arcticus.

Bryde's whales, Balaenoptera edeni, were observed during the summer of 2004. The first sighting was of a mother and calf pair on 3 July. This pair was seen on several other occasions during the summer. In addition five other individuals were observed separately from the mother–calf pair. These observations represent the first appearance of this species in the Azorean Archipelago.

During the survey two species viz, Catostylus mosaicus and Rhizostoma pulmo were found abundantly during March to August with a peak in June–July. The survey revealed the abundance of Catostylus mosaicus over Rhizostoma pulmo. Catostylus mosaicus was being fished at Sonmiani Bay (Balouchistan coast) Gharo Creek, Mirpur Sakro and Keti Bandar (Sindh coast; Indus delta), whereas, Rhizostoma pulmo was fished at Kemari and Keti Bandar. The commercial fishery was also initiated simultaneously on a small scale and jellyfish of both the species mentioned above were caught, processed and exported to south-east Asian countries. This is the first record of the occurrence of Rhizostoma pulmo from the region. A brief description of the species collected from the coastal waters of Pakistan is given along with notes on distribution, ecology, habitat and fishery.

We register the occurrence of Isocheles sawayai intersex individuals and analyse their external primary and secondary sexual characters. Specimens were collected monthly from July 2001 to June 2003 from the benthic sand habitat in the Caraguatatuba region of the northern littoral coast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The sex of individuals was checked based on the position of gonopores and pleopod morphology was also analysed. A total of 374 hermit crabs (297 males, 67 females, and 10 intersexes) was captured and examined. All intersex individuals bore a gonopore on the basis of each coxae of the fifth pereopods as well as male pleopods, associated with gonopores (only one or a pair) on the coxae of the third pereopods. A greater degree of similarity among the analysed sexual characters was observed between males and intersex individuals than between intersexes and females. The results obtained suggest that, at least in this population, intersex individuals are functional males and that hermaphroditism does not play a significant role in the natural history of I. sawayai.

On 23 May 2005, a bigeye thresher shark (350 cm total length (TL)), Alopias superciliosus was captured in Gökova Bay (south-eastern Aegean Sea). This is the first record of the species from Turkish waters. A second specimen (approximately 450 cm TL), was captured off the Silivri coast, northern Sea of Marmara, on 25 February 2007. This is the first record of the species from Marmaric waters and the second record from Turkish seas. The examined head of the Marmaric specimen is described.

The Amigos de los Delfines made four sightings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) during surveys for dolphins near the Parque Nacional del Este (Eastern National Park), on the south-eastern coast of the Dominican Republic in March 2005. A number of behaviours were documented, including breaching apparently in response to harassment by local tour boats. The northern waters of the country are well known breeding sites for humpback whales, which led to the creation of the Silver Bank Marine Mammal Sanctuary. The information obtained during these sightings has led to a number of management efforts to reduce the impacts of human activities on the whales beyond the borders of the Sanctuary.

A specimen of the musky octopus, Eledone moschata, of 188 mm mantle length and 1414 g total body weight, was caught on 12 February 2007 by trammel net in İzmir Bay. The given sizes are the maximal for this species at the present time.

The first confirmed records of two blonde rays (Raja brachyura) in the Ligurian Sea for 140 years are described. Two specimens were caught off Cogoleto (western Ligurian Sea) and they were deposited in the Civic Museum of Natural History ‘Giacomo Doria’ of Genoa. Morphometric and meristic features have been reported.

Specimens of the grapsoid crabs Grapsus granulosus, Plagusia squamosa and Pachygrapsus transversus were recently collected in the Sirte Basin, on the southern rim of the Mediterranean Sea. The Erythrean alien G. granulosus is reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea, along with the second record in the Mediterranean of the Indo-Pacific P. squamosa, and the first record of P. transversus along the south-central Mediterranean coast. The relations between introduced grapsoid crabs, vessel traffic and climate change are dicussed.

Between the years 1996 and 2006 the Threatened Marine Species Recovery Centre (CREMA) detected 14 strandings and sightings of hooded seals in the coasts surrounding the Strait of Gibraltar. Five strandings and the only three sightings occurred on the Spanish coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. CREMA or its stranding report network did not deal directly with the stranded or sighted individuals but there were good descriptions and photographs to confirm identification. The frequency of stranding and sighting of hooded seal individuals on the southern coast of Spain indicate that the migratory movements of this species are performed by groups of young animals less than one year old.

The present work describes sightings of two groups of Tursiops truncatus, one with six and one with fifteen individuals, including four specimens identified by photograph and video, besides personal communications and records by other researchers. The presence of calves in the observed groups and the constant tactile interaction among the individuals suggest they may be using the area for socialization purposes. All the observations were taken on the north-western portion of the atoll which is the most sheltered throughout the year. The sightings of T. truncatus in the REBIO Atol das Rocas contribute to the knowledge about this species in Brazilian oceanic waters and highlight the importance of this area for the conservation of cetaceans.

This study gives a first qualitative and quantitative record of the parasitic infracommunities in two deep-sea fish species inhabiting the locality of the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. In December of 2002 a total of 12 individuals of Coelorynchus chilensis and 35 Notacanthus sexspinis was obtained as by-catch of a shrimp Haliporoides diomedeae fishery at around 1000 m depth. The majority of the individuals of both species were infected at least by one parasitic taxon. Forty-five parasites were collected from C. chilensis including larval cestodes, Hepatoxylon trichiuri, Grillotia sp., larval nematodes Anisakis sp., adult digeneans Dinosoma sp., Brachyphallus sp., copepods Protochondia cf. longicauda and myxozoa Myxidium sp. Twenty-two parasitic individuals were collected from N. sexspinis belonging to adult digeneans Lecithochirium sp., and Accacladium sp. (without eggs, immature), larval cestodes Hepatoxylon trichiuri, larval nematodes Anisakis sp. and myxozoa Ceratomyxa sp. Most of the parasites showed a low prevalence and abundance in both host species, except for Myxidium sp., Ceratomyxa sp., Dinosoma sp. and Brachyphallus sp. The parasites Hepatoxylon trichiuri and Anisakis sp. were the only shared taxa. These infracommunities are low in richness, diversity and abundance compared to shallow water fish–parasites communities. Nevertheless the numeric properties of infracommunities are not reliable due to sample size. Given the additional difficulties with reliable sampling of deep-sea fish, these results should not have too much significance attributed to them. The relevance of this study is simply the recognition of parasites that infect the deep-sea fish of the families Macrouridae and Notacanthidae in the southern hemisphere.

Two specimens of the spottail moray Gymnothorax equatorialis were identified for the first time off the west coast of the State of Baja California Sur. This discovery also constitutes the northernmost record of this species on the Pacific Coast. The possible causes of its occurrence in the north-eastern Pacific are discussed and information about the conditions of collections and characteristic morphometry are presented.

The pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata Gray, 1874 can be found worldwide in deep tropical and warm temperate waters remaining one of the least known species of small cetacean. In the tropical and temperate Atlantic, F. attenuata has been recorded from south-east United States, Veracruz, Mexico, the Bay of Biscay, Sénégal, the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. A stranding record for Argentina may be considered a vagrant. In Brazil, only two confirmed stranding records are published and sightings are rare. We here report on two early confirmed sightings of pygmy killer whales, Feresa attenuata off the Brazilian coast previous to the report of Rossi-Santos et al. (2006). Pygmy killer whales could use the edge of the continental shelf occasionally for resting or feeding, such as several other pelagic species do frequently. In conclusion, F. attenuata is known to occur off the Brazilian coast, in deep tropical waters, and may visit the continental slope occasionally for feeding and resting.

The majoid crab, Macropodia tenuirostris is now reported off the Samandağ coast, Hatay, south-eastern Turkey. One male specimen of Macropodia tenuirostris was found on 31 January 2007 on a sandy bottom with a sea grass meadow, Halophila stipulacea (Forskål) Ascherson at a depth of 25 m (GPS coordinates: 36°01′24″N 35°58′33″E) by bottom trawl, with a cod-end mesh size of 22 mm. It is one of the six species of Macropodia in the Mediterranean Sea, and is widely distributed in the eastern Atlantic (Faeroe Islands, North Sea, all British coasts, southwards to Western Sahara, Cape Verde Islands) and in the entire Mediterranean. Macropodia tenuirostris as here reported presents the first record of this species for the Turkish part of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

During a recent survey along the Balochistan coast of Pakistan, which extends from 25°11′N 61°41′E in the west, to 24°53′N 66°41′E in the east, many specimens of Carybdea marsupialis have been collected from the sandy beach near Gwadar Fish Harbour. All the specimens were dead except one, possibly stranded on the beach or thrown by fishermen. The species has recently been recorded for the first time also from the Oman Sea. This is the third addition to the cubozoans from Pakistani waters; previously, Chiropsalmus buitendijki and Carybdea alata, have been recorded.