A total of 101 denticled roundray Urotrygon cimar were caught in a large area of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Sizes ranged from 102 to 282 mm total length. Rays were caught at depths between 17 and 62 m. These records confirm the presence of the denticled roundray off the southern coast of the Mexican Pacific.

Records of the anthiine fish genus Meganthias are rare and most species are only known from few specimens. On 17 February 2012 a specimen of Meganthias natalensis, ~400 mm standard length was caught in 150 m depth about 10 nautical miles off Watamu, Kenya. This is the first record of the species from Kenyan waters.

This paper describes a rare sighting of an anomalously white harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the coastal waters of the outer Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. The recording provides the first photographs of such an individual from the northern North Sea. At an estimated body length of 1.5 m, the present animal had evidently survived to adulthood, in spite of its condition, confirming the potential longevity of such hypo-pigmented individuals in the wild. Further recaptures of this naturally-marked animal may provide valuable information on the site fidelity and long-term spatial movements of these notoriously difficult to study cetaceans.

The first case of abnormal cephalic horns in the California bat ray, Myliobatis californica was found in one male juvenile specimen caught in a gillnet by artisanal elasmobranch fishermen on the west coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The specimen had three cephalic horns, two in the cephalic lobes zone and one in the rostral middle zone which could be indicative of a morphogenetic plasticity in these taxa that may have facilitated the evolution of rhinopterid and mobulid species from a common myliobatid ancestor with a similar role of feeding in Mobulidae and Rhinopteridae subfamilies.

The mandarin dogfish, Cirrhigaleus barbifer, is the only species in this genus found in Western Australia, and represents a significant range extension and first record in Australia. Most Cirrhigaleus sharks are clearly separable from other squalid sharks by the presence of conspicuous barbels on the anterior nasal flaps. Cirrhigaleus barbifer may be distinguished from its close relative C. australis by the structure of the CO1 gene and key measurements. In addition, this is only the second record of a gravid female of C. barbifer, with pups in an advanced stage of development. New data on the reproductive biology and range of C. barbifer are included.

Rullierinereis ancornunezi is recorded for the first time from British waters. Specimens were discovered at two sites: near the Isles of Scilly at the extreme south-west of the country and near the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.

On 18 March 2012, a female specimen of the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, measuring 256 cm, was by-caught by a net fisherman targeting narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus commerson, off Dalma Island in Abu Dhabi waters. This occurrence represents the first documented record of C. taurus in United Arab Emirates waters. The geographical distribution of this species in the Arabian/Persian Gulf is discussed and updated. The limited records of this species in this body of water may be due to the absence of rigorous species landing reports across countries bordering the Arabian/Persian Gulf.

The occurrence of the opisthobranchs Diaphana globosa, Hermaeopsis variopicta, Doris bertheloti, Rostanga rubra, Janolus cristatus and Flabellina bulbosa in the Azores is reported for the first time. Our findings expand the known geographical distribution of these species in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and increase the known diversity of opisthobranchs in the archipelago to 150 species. These results provide further support for the well-documented affinity of the Azorean marine biota to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

New records of five fish species from the Arabian Sea coasts of Oman are reported: arrowhead dogfish Deania profundorum (one specimen), Sloane's viperfish Chauliodus sloani (nine specimens), moustache grouper Epinephelus chabaudi (one specimen); sackfish Neoepinnula orientalis (12 specimens) and the Natal duckbil, Bembrops platyrhynchus (11 specimens). All specimens were obtained from the Arabian Sea coasts of Oman during surveys by the trawler ‘Al-Mustaquila’ between 2006 and 2008.

Carcasses of whales provide much valuable information on their natural history. However, some specimens cannot be identified in the field due to the advanced state of decomposition. In this study, the DNA was extracted and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced for four carcasses of possible mysticeti (GEMM: 075, 088, 135 and GEMARS: 1302). A blast search using the nucleotide–nucleotide basic local alignment (blastn) search tool was conducted using the generated sequences. Samples GEMM 075 and GEMARS 1302 showed 98% identity to one sequence of Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Samples GEMM 088 and GEMM 135 showed 99% identity to sequences from Balaenoptera edeni and Megaptera novaeangliae, respectively. A neighbour-joining tree was generated using sequences from GenBank from all species of balaenopterid that occur on the coast of Brazil. The results showed that all carcasses analysed were correspondent to species from the family Balaenopteridae already recorded in Brazil.

Alien benthic foraminiferal assemblages of Samandag and Yayladagı coasts (Hatay, Turkey) have been investigated. 41 genera and 58 species of benthic foraminifers were identified and Indo-Pacific originated alien species were found to dominate the foraminiferal assemblage. Pararotalia calcariformata which shows distribution in the western Pacific is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea.

The nudibranch Thordisa villosa is recorded for the first time from the west coast of India. It is the third known record of this species from India, observed after a long gap of 60 years. The last known record of this species from India was by Satyamurti (1952), from the Gulf of Mannar on the south-east coast. Specimens were collected in the intertidal rocky shores of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The occurrence of the species at three study sites confirms its range in this part of the Indian coastline.

A grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), representative of the North Atlantic species, has been recorded in the north-east Black Sea. It is the first documented case of successful long-term survival of an exotic pinniped. We have been receiving data about regular sightings of the seal identified as the observed individual since 2001. It is a 160–170 cm long adult female. The seal used an underwater cave as a shelter. The most likely way of introduction of the grey seal to the Black Sea is escape from captivity. According to available data (body size and moulting seasonality), we tentatively identify it as a representative of the Baltic subspecies. The biotope requirements of the grey seal and monk seal are similar: both species use coastal karst caves and grottos. In addition, the seal's presence in this region is a marker of the lack of anthropogenic disturbance. Thus, the survival of a seal in this region indicates the possibility of successful re-colonization of the Black Sea by monk seals.

The schooling behaviour of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana was observed over 4 summers at 3 observation sites in the coastal waters of Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. During this field study, 3 static appearances (belt, ball and sheet shape) and 2 transitional appearances (high and low density) were noted, recorded and described. In addition to formations, a member of S. lessoniana schools also displayed particular and repeated behavioural patterns such as vanguard and intimidating display. The 3 observation sites were tropical coral reefs near the coastline at a depth of 1 to 15 m on an average. All participating observers snorkelled and were equipped with various underwater digital video and photographic cameras. The schools observed consisted of 8 to over 100 members with a wide range of body sizes. Despite these biological and locational differences, both static and transitional appearances were consistently observed with equally consistent individual behavioural patterns. There have been studies on related species, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, at the San Blas Islands along the Caribbean coast of eastern Panama, and the same species, S. lessoniana, at a different geographical location, Casuarina Beach on Lizard Island, Australia. The findings of this study are consistent with those reported previously, with some notable differences.

The cetacean fauna inhabiting the poorly-studied waters of the eastern tropical Atlantic (ETA), along the west coast of Africa, is still being described. Information on the cetacean species occurring in specific ETA range states is important for understanding their geographical distribution ranges and for implementing conservation and management measures. Here we provide photographically-verified records for the occurrence of pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) off Côte d'Ivoire and of Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) off Gabon. These records represent new range state records for both species, and are also the first verified at-sea sightings in the ETA and the Gulf of Guinea respectively.

In the Bay of Douarnenez, in a reference area surveyed for echinoderms, the relative abundance of epifaunal ophiuroids (Ophiothrix fragilis and Ophiocomina nigra) was estimated by dredging and video surveys. Two surveys were undertaken in 2008 and 2011, following a protocol similar to that used in a long-term survey conducted in the 1980s. The data were then compared between the two periods. The present observations demonstrate a recolonization of this site by these ophiuroids, which had almost disappeared between 1983 and 1988. However, although the mean densities of Ophiothrix fragilis were similar to those found prior to this general ophiuroid decrease, Ophiocomina nigra densities were much greater. This latter species not only increased significantly in density and bottom coverage in the reference area, but also showed strong juvenile recruitments on maerl beds and colonization of other bottoms of the bay at very high densities according to a geostatistical analysis. Further studies would be necessary to establish whether or not there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the increase of green algae in the bay and the development of this opportunistic species.

The distribution range of several species of Ascidiacea is expanding due to human-based transportation between biogeographical regions. Ship movement in Brazil has increased over the past few years due to world commerce and oil exploration, which has increased the number of species transported and introduced to new areas. This ship movement has made harbour areas a suitable place to detect the introduction of many species. In this work, we report the first record in the south-west Atlantic of the solitary Ascidiacea Rhodosoma turcicum. This species has been recorded since 2009 at Forno Harbour, in Arraial do Cabo, but exclusively inside cages protected from predators. This suggests biological control of the species is preventing its spread throughout the area.

The first occurrence of the Tranquebar scallop Volachlamys tranquebaria in the Vellar estuary, south-east coast of India is reported with photographs.

Three species of the serpulid genus Hydroides are described and illustrated herein. Hydroides bannerorum and H. albiceps are newly recorded to Guam in the Mariana Islands. Hydroides perezi is also described and illustrated from specimens collected in Pago Bay. We provide notes on the opercular ontogenetic variation of H. albiceps to help clarify possible confusions with opercula of similar taxa.

Spatial variations on the macrobenthic composition and structure associated with artificial reefs (ARs) on the south-eastern Brazil coast were related to particle size and geochemical characteristics of the sediment and to bottom currents velocity in the vicinity of ARs and two control areas (CAs). The sampling periods were related to Paraiba do Sul River (PSR) flow, highest in summer months. The sediment was more heterogeneous near the ARs, composed mainly of mud and gravel and with greater abundance of shellfish compared to the CAs predominated by mud. The influence of the artificial structures on the hydrodynamics of the site was evident with significantly lower current velocity. Macrobenthos richness, abundance and diversity varied spatially, with higher mean values near the ARs in both sampling periods, reinforcing the influence of artificial structures on the associated infauna. Significant temporal differences in the concentrations of phosphorus, nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon only on the CAs suggest that the effect of the artificial structures surpasses the environmental seasonality related to the PSR flow. The artificial modules created a more heterogeneous grain size of the sediment that contributed to the enrichment of associated macrobenthos, with higher species richness and abundance due to a higher niche availability.