The serranid fish Liopropoma lunulatum (Guichenot, 1863) and Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède, 1801) were recorded from Cochin fisheries harbour, Kerala in March 2012, constituting new records for Indian waters. Morphometric and meristic characters of the specimens were similar to those reported elsewhere for the species. Distinguishing characters and colour patterns of the two species are discussed. The present record indicates a marked extension of their range of distribution from their type localities.

To date the occurrence of Mayerella redunca has only been reported from the northern Gulf of Mexico (USA) and southern Caribbean (Venezuela). Based on samples collected from the continental shelf of Yucatan, this paper provides the first record of M. redunca from the southern Gulf of Mexico (Mexico), along with its main morphological features.

Seven taxa including three new species of Mallacoota are reported from the South Pacific locations of Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the Kermadec Islands. Mallacoota mizegwaden sp. nov. was collected from Papua New Guinea, and M. lifou sp. nov. and M. xepenehe sp. nov. from New Caledonia including the Loyalty Islands. Additional material of M. nananui Myers, 1985 is identified from New Caledonia, supporting previous records by Ledoyer, 1984. Three species, Mallacoota capricornia Lowry & Hughes, 2009; M. chiltoni Kilgallen & Ahyong, 2011 and M. sirius Hughes, 2011 are reported from the Kermadec Islands. There are now 33 known species of Mallacoota, with 19 species occurring in tropical to subtropical waters.

Twelve parasitic copepod species representing two families were opportunistically recorded from the skin of 13 elasmobranch species captured in the coastal waters of Oman. New host records include Alebion carchariae, Pandarus smithii and Pandarus cranchii on Carcharhinus amboinensis; Echthrogaleus denticulatus on Alopias superciliosus and Sphyrna lewini; Pandarus carcharhini on Carcharhinus altimus; Pseudopandarus longus on Carcharhinus sorrah; Caligus dasyaticus on Glaucostegas halavi. Previous records of Pseudopandarus australis are limited to the Pacific Ocean, and its occurrence in the northern Indian Ocean represents a large range extension.

Dwarf (Kogia sima) and pygmy (K. breviceps) sperm whales occur in pelagic waters around southern Africa. Here we report the first record of K. sima from Namibia and provide information on the basic morphometrics and diet of that record and of two recent strandings of K. breviceps. All known records (N = 29) of K. breviceps from Namibia are also collated. Eight families of cephalopod were identified in the stomach contents of the K. sima but no fish remains and few crustacean parts were present. Nine and ten families of cephalopod were identified in the stomachs of the two K. breviceps specimens respectively. This report expands the known range of K. sima by more than 1000 km from previous published records in the region. The sparsely populated nature of the Namibian coast and bias of records towards centres of human habitation suggest Kogia strandings are under reported. The low number of stranded specimens of K. sima from Namibia and west South Africa, in comparison to K. breviceps suggests that K. sima occur rarely or at very low densities in the area influenced by the Benguela current ecosystem. Specimens from Namibia are valuable due to uncertainties about taxomony of kogiids in the region.

The occurrence of noctilucoid dinoflagellates Abedinium dasypus and Scaphodinium mirabile is reported for the first time from the Indian Ocean (Kuwait's waters, north-western Arabian Gulf). The morphology of live cells is described on the basis of light microscopic examination and photographically documented for both species. The world distribution of these dinoflagellates is reviewed.

Four porcellanid species, Petrolisthes coccineus (Owen, 1839), P. lamarckii (Leach, 1820), P. moluccensis (De Man, 1888) and P. tomentosus (Dana, 1852), are reported on the basis of specimens collected from an intertidal area of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep Archipelago in south-western India. All the four species are recorded from the archipelago for the first time, and P. moluccensis is new to the Indian fauna. Morphological diagnoses, notes on the habitats and distributions are provided for the four species.

This paper reports the first record of the occurrence of Pinna fragilis from Korangi Creek, Pakistan coast (24°47′N 67°11′E). A description of the species collected from the Pakistan coast is given along with size, habitat, ecology and economic importance. Shells of 114–347 mm were found from the area. The dark grey pearls of dull lustre were found from few shells.

We present here the most updated list of sea urchins for Puerto Rico. We report, for the first time, the occurrence of the irregular echinoids Paraster floridiensis and Clypeaster subdepressus for the island. These reports increase the number of shallow water echinoid species for Puerto Ricoto to 19 and expand the known regional distribution range for both species.

Four species of Ophelina, collected from the deep waters off southern Brazil (700–2000 m) between 21°18 S and 23° S, are described, viz., Ophelina abranchiata, O. cf. cylindricaudata, O. chaetifera and O. aulogastrella. These reports extend the distribution of O. abranchiata and O. chaetifera to the South Atlantic Ocean and the distribution of O. aulogastrella to the western South Atlantic.

Two specimens of Xanthichthys lineopunctatus of total length 254 mm and 293 mm were collected from hook and line units operating off Kerala near Lakshadweep on the south-west coast of India in October 2004 and November 2005. The species is characterized by an oblong compressed body with a small mouth, yellowish brown body traversed horizontally by incomplete reddish brown lines from the operculum which become dotted lines on ventral area. This is the first report of the genus from Indian waters and an addition to the nine genera and thirteen species of balistids already reported from Indian waters. The descriptions of the specimens collected are provided with possible cause of range extension due to temperature changes in its natural habitat.

Pseudodiaptomus marinus was described from eastern Asian waters and has subsequently been spread in the Indo-Pacific region, but has only been found in European waters since 2007. The presence of the species in inshore waters of the Southern Bight of the North Sea, in Calais Harbour and off Gravelines was noted in 2010 and 2011. The present records from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey extend the known distribution northwards and across the Southern Bight between The Netherlands and British coasts. Net hauls for biological monitoring in the German exclusive economic zone add a location further north and east in the German Bight. Spread of the species to inshore waters of the eastern North Sea and to the Baltic is predicted.

Delicate shallow-water sea pens were collected from Mangamaripeta fish landing centre of Visakhapatnam, India where they were brought in along with the fish catch. The sea pens were preserved and identified as Cavernularia obesa Valenciennes in Milne Edward & Haime, 1850. The species is being recorded for the first time from these waters.

Our study tracked three non-native, marine, sessile, invertebrate species which have recently colonized the south-eastern United States Atlantic coastlines and estuaries: Mytella charruana, the charru mussel; Perna viridis, the Asian green mussel; and Megabalanus coccopoma, the titan acorn barnacle. Along the eastern Floridian coast, Mytella charruana was discovered in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida (FL) in 2004. Perna viridis was found in Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL in 2002, after being introduced to Tampa Bay, FL in 1989. Megabalanus coccopoma was documented in St Augustine, FL and Brunswick, Georgia in 2006. From 2006 through to 2011, a biannual survey of the south-eastern Atlantic coastlines and estuaries was conducted from Jupiter, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina (894 km) to document the distribution and range expansion of M. charruana, P. viridis and M. coccopoma. Field surveys were conducted in June and December each year at 82 sites (e.g. docks, boat ramps, jetties and mangrove roots). The ranges of the three invertebrates have expanded and retracted along the Atlantic coast since the survey began. Mytella charruana had spread as far north as Savannah, Georgia in 2007, but the species was absent from northern Georgia in 2010 and 2011. Perna viridis and M. coccopoma were present in Georgia in 2007, but were absent in the 2010 and 2011 surveys. These range fluctuations may be explained by extreme cold temperatures, which occurred during the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winters. The patterns observed with these three sessile invertebrates provide information regarding how non-native species disperse and establish in new locations.

The first record of Naso reticulatus from Indian waters is documented. This species was reported only by its type specimens from Indonesia and Taiwan previously. Our record of this species from Indian waters extends the distributional range of N. reticulatus to the east coast of India.

The warm-water nemertean species Paradrepanophorus crassus, described from Mediterranean shores, was first recorded in Lough Hyne, County Cork, Ireland in 1931 by Renouf. This large nemertean that forms membranous tubes under low intertidal to shallow subtidal rocks has increased in frequency, particularly from 2009 to 2012 with peak values of 0.26 specimens per metre of shoreline. Eggs were noted within the membranous tube of one specimen collected in June 2012. Furthermore, based on digital photographs of specimens, the striped nemertean species Punnettia splendida was also noted in September 2011; this is a new species record for Lough Hyne.

Pomacanthidae is a family of coral reef fish that consists of approximately 74 species. Ten species of these fish have been identified in the Persian Gulf, one of them being yellow-bar angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus). The phylogenetic relationship of these fish was studied using 10 samples collected from three regions of Iran: Larak Island, Lengeh Port and Genaveh Port. To analyse mtDNA, 760 base pairs of the cytochrome b gene were amplified and sequenced. The target region of the mtDNA was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then PCR products were analysed by the phylogenetic analyses of the DNA sequences based on Phylodraw and ClustalW software. Samples were aligned together and with other cytochrome b gene sequences of angelfish from GenBank. Comparison of the phylogenetic trees indicated that all samples belong to a monophyletic group, while comparison of the phylogenetic tree obtained from the cytochrome b gene of P. maculosus samples from the Persian Gulf and other angelfish in GenBank, showed that P. maculosus is closer to Pomacanthus semicirculatus and Pomacanthus imperator than other species of GenBank.

This study is the first to characterize and provide an account of serum parameters in a wild population of female sobaity sea-bream Sparidentex hasta during the spawning season. The average concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenize (LDH) were: 220.2 ± 17.50, 9.4 ± 2.44 and 1745 ± 259.81 U/L respectively. The ALT concentration correlated positively with cholesterol and triglycerides (P < 0.01), and LDH correlated positively with ALT. Cholesterol and triglycerides had a positive correlation with liver enzymes (P < 0.01). Average glucose concentration was 130.8 ± 11.15 and ranged between 114 and 155 mg/dl. E2 ranged between 14.36 and 27.32 Pg/ml in the spawning season and was positively correlated with length and weight (P < 0.01).

In February 2010, a specimen of Urotrygon microphthalmum (total length = 232.4 mm; disc width = 123.1 mm; total weight = 81.97 g) was caught having the external appearance of a male with an abnormality (atrophied left clasper and missing right clasper). Internally, the specimen had only female reproductive organs. The left ovary had yellow follicles (≤ 2.7 mm) and the left uterus had a yellow ovum (5.85 mm). These characteristics indicate that the individual captured was a case of abnormal hermaphroditism, classified as a pseudo-hermaphrodite.