Philometroides Yamaguti, 1935 is a genus of dracunculoid nematodes of the family Philometridae Baylis & Daubney, 1926 comprising tissue-infecting species worldwide. In the present study, a new species of Philometroides is described from the Tyrrhenian Sea (central-western Mediterranean Sea) using integrative approaches such as light and scanning microscopy, histopathology and 18S rRNA sequencing. Philometroides giginosantoroi n. sp. found in the skeletal muscles of the Mediterranean moray Muraena helena can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of morphological traits and in particular by having the oral aperture with 3 large sclerotized triangular oesophageal teeth. The molecular analyses and phylogenetic reconstructions support its status as a new taxon and placed it within a clade of tissue-infecting species, although also confirmed mismatches in the generic assignment of several species. Philometroides giginosantoroi n. sp. is the second species of the genus found in the Mediterranean Sea and in general in the European marine waters and the third species of the family known to infect the family Muraenidae.

Two specimens of the penaeid shrimp Penaeus aztecus, a West Atlantic species, were collected off Castiglione della Pescaia, Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. The species identity was confirmed based on morphological characters and by sequencing 510 nucleotides of the mtDNA 16sRNA gene. This alien species has been previously recorded off Turkey, Greece and Montenegro.

A new species of Abyssoninoe (Polychaeta: Lumbrineridae) has been found on sublittoral soft bottoms in the Gulf of Milazzo (central Mediterranean Sea). The description is based on eleven specimens recorded in six grab samples carried out by Van Veen grab from 20 to 50 m depth. Abyssoninoe bidentata sp. nov. differs from the six hitherto known species of Abyssoninoe by having the maxillae III with two subequal teeth instead of one, the shape of the parapodial lobes and chaetal distribution.

Evidence is given of the second documented record of Gephyroberyx darwinii (Beryciformes: Trachychthyidae) in the Mediterranean. One specimen was caught offshore S. Agata di Militello (Tyrrhenian Sea) in August 2011 by trammel net. Herein are reported its morphometric and meristic features.

In summer 2010, a systematic survey was carried out in the harbours of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea) and Olbia (western Tyrrhenian Sea) with the aim of studying alien species in Italian commercial harbours. Biological samples were collected by replicate scraping on the concrete walls of docks at the beginning and at the end of the summer season. Identification to species level revealed the presence of Tricellaria inopinata, an invasive alien cheilostome bryozoan of Pacific origin, first introduced to Europe in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) in 1982. Thereafter it has been reported in other ports in Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Massachusetts (USA). Its finding in the harbours of La Spezia and Olbia represents the first record of the species in the Ligurian Sea and in the western-central Tyrrhenian Sea, respectively. Commercial harbours are common sites of biotic invasions due to the presence of the most important vectors of alien species introduction, namely aquaculture, and shipping. The occurrence of T. inopinata in the harbours of La Spezia and Olbia is discussed, taking into consideration possible pathways of introduction into the western Mediterranean Sea, which very likely is the transfer of molluscs from the northern Adriatic (namely the Lagoon of Venice).

The polychaete Scalibregma celticum was recorded for the first time along the western Italian coast (Mediterranean Sea). A survey was carried out in February 2009 off the Sardinia north-east coast. Six individuals of S. celticum were collected at 40 m depth on a sandy substratum. In the present study they are described, pointing out the difference between S. celticum and S. inflatum a species more common along the Italian coast.

This work focuses on the species associations of the Baronie Seamount (north-eastern Sardinia, Italy), according to variations in depth and time of day. The aim was to highlight the potential vertical movements of the species and to compare these results to existing data from a submarine canyon. Twenty-two samples were taken at different depths and times along two trawl lines over the seamount. A total of 94 species were caught; among these, 48 bony fish, 9 cartilaginous fish, 13 molluscs and 24 crustaceans were selected for analysis. Cluster analysis showed 3 groups in which both depth and time of day play an important role in grouping. Nine species showed some daily and nocturnal movement, probably linked to trophic requirements. The daily movements according to size and sex of the shrimps Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus were also studied. For these two populations, the analysis showed an uneven distribution and the diel cycle appears to involve only the females. These species seem to adapt their life cycle to the geomorphology of the sea bottom. The diurnal movements from the base of the seamount to the edge of the continental shelf increase the range of the species distribution. In fact, the seamount, due to its geomorphological conformation, offers these species the opportunity to very quickly span a considerable range of depths. These movements are known to occur in the continental shelf and slope, but in the seamount they are broadened and can be studied more easily.

Swordfish in the Mediterranean Sea have been caught with harpoon since 1000 BC, when, from May to August, these animals come to the surface often in male–female pairs. At this time, swordfish exhibit a variety of swimming behaviours largely only known by fishermen targeting swordfish. Over four years from 2002 to 2005, we observed the behaviour of swordfish in surface waters from the sighting platform of a harpoon fishing boat. The behaviour of 207 swordfish pairs, 73 single females and 124 single males, were recorded. On the basis of behaviours identified by the fishing fleet, we classified a priori, the behaviour of single males, single females and pairs of swordfish across seven categories. After capture, the maturity stage of each fish was determined macrocospically and assigned to a gonadosomatic index (GSI). Both male and female of a higher GSI were more frequently observed in surface waters during June and July (analysis of variance (ANOVA) F(3,276) = 70.107; P = 0.001) and individual GSI was observed to be associated with differing behavioural grouping. The most frequent behaviours observed were: a female that swam rectilinear closely followed by the male, or two fish that swam near the surface and turn out going full circle. Both behaviours were associated with the maturity Stage IV. Our data suggest that reproductive behaviour of swordfish involve a long lasting surface courtship display with different phases influenced by gonad development.

A total of fifteen adult specimens of the so-called ‘lessepsian sprinter’ Fistularia commersonii were captured by bottom trawlers and gill-netters operating along the Latium coasts, Italy, in October–November 2007. This non-native species is established in the eastern Mediterranean but it has been sporadically reported beyond the Strait of Sicily. Never before has the species been recorded in such large numbers from a single locality in the western Mediterranean. These records may suggest an incoming establishment of a self-sustained population of the species also in the western Mediterranean and they document for the first time the presence of a lessepsian fish in Latium waters. Biometry and meristics of the available specimens of F. commersonii and data on their diet and reproductive condition are given.

A large number of Red Sea species are colonizing the eastern Mediterranean Sea after the opening of the sea-level Suez Canal in 1869, mainly following the Levantine and Anatolian coasts and then spreading westwards, at least in part, by shipping transport of larvae, juveniles, or adult specimens. Two of them are Cerithium scabridum and Fulvia fragilis, well established along the Italian coasts, where new large and stable populations have formed. Some other species, such as Anadara demiri, were accidentally introduced through shipping in our seas and have found good conditions to survive and develop. New distributional and ecological data about these alien molluscs are given and all the species found in association are listed to improve understanding of their living biocoenosis. The presence of a further lessepsian mollusc and of an intentionally introduced species, Brachidontes pharaonis and Ruditapes philippinarum, was also confirmed respectively from Vibo Valentia harbour and from the Gulf of Naples and the Gulf of Taranto. The nomenclature used is based on the CLEMAM Database (last research on 9 January 2008).

A male specimen of Leucoraja circularis was captured in January 2005 by a bottom trawler operating south-east off the Anzio coast (central Tyrrhenian Sea). Biometric and meristic characters of the specimen are presented. This capture represents the first documented record of the species in the central Tyrrhenian Sea.

Two volcaniclastic successions intercalated in Pliocene basinal clays from the Southern Apennines have been analysed to determine their provenance and their relationship with the geodynamic evolution of the Western Mediterranean. The studied deposits are exclusively made up of ashy pyroclasts, dominated by fresh acidic to intermediate glass, mostly in the form of shards, pumice fragments and groundmass fragments with vitrophyric texture. Crystals include Pl, Opx, Cpx, Hbl and rare Bt. Sedimentological features suggest that the volcanic material accumulated near the basin margin by primary fallout processes and was later remobilized by density currents. 40Ar–39Ar geochronology allowed dating of one succession at 2.24±0.06 Ma, corresponding to the Late Pliocene. Composition of the volcaniclastic material is typical of a transitional high-K calc-alkaline series. The age and chemical composition constrain the provenance of the volcaniclastic rocks from the Southern Tyrrhenian domain. Here, volcanic centres were active during Pliocene time, approximately at the northern end of a volcanic arc formed before the opening of the southernmost part of the sea. This paper shows that a detailed study of volcaniclastic products from the southern Apennines and Calabria can be very useful in collecting new pieces of information on the eruption history of the southern Tyrrhenian domain, since they record additional data not available from the study of exposed volcanic edifices.

The first record of the dusky spinefoot Siganus luridus in Tyrrhenian waters is reported. One specimen was caught in Capo d'Orlando in March 2004 by trammel net. Its morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported.

The presence of Gymnura altavela in Italian waters is discussed on the basis of a specimen trawled in the coastal waters of Anzio (central Tyrrhenian Sea). The morphometry of our specimen is compared with data available in the literature and with some museological material of the 19th Century, which represent the only useful source of information for this species in the Italian seas. Never before, relevant data on the morphometry of Italian specimens of this species have been given to scientific literature.