The Mediterranean endemic coral Maasella edwardsi (de Lacaze-Duthiers, 1888) is recorded for the first time from the Aegean Sea coasts of Turkey. A dozen colonies of the species were observed on rocks and the rhizomes of Posidonia oceanica meadows during the coral surveys carried out between 2012 and 2014. This record shows the northernmost occurrence of species in terms of geographic distribution in the Turkish coasts. The number of known species for the Anthozoan fauna of Turkey has increased to 76 with this new record.

A porbeagle shark Lamna nasus was found stranded at the sub-Antarctic Marion Island on 26 March 2014. The specimen, a sub-adult female, measuring 123 cm pre-caudal length, was photographically recorded and identified on the basis of its meristic traits. This observation is related to current information on the distribution of the species obtained from fisheries in the Southern Ocean and its feeding biology. The Onykia ingens squid specimen found in the specimen's stomach content matches the classification of porbeagle sharks as pelagic and demersal predators and adds to the cephalopod prey species list of the recently established Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area.

In September 2014 an unusual mixture of ctenophores was recorded at Arboretet, south-western Norway and at Flødevigen, near Arendal on the south coast of Norway. In addition to the invasive American lobate ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi, the common northern lobate ctenophore Bolinopsis infundibulum and the cydippid Pleurobrachia pileus, two beroid ctenophores, were noted – Beroe cucumis and Beroe gracilis. The latter species had not been documented before in Norwegian waters.

We report a first record of the alien fish Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus in the Mediterranean Sea. The fish was found along the northern coast of Israel. This finding increases the number of Red Sea gobies in the Mediterranean to six, and the number of shrimp-gobies to two. A dense colony of this species was observed at depths of 20–30 m in the Rosh Ha'nikra-Achziv Nature Reserve.

Three individuals of small, young giant squid Architeuthis dux were caught in or near Japanese coastal waters during April–June 2013. The first occurrence of a young individual of 140.8 mm dorsal mantle length with a total weight of 44.81 g was recorded on the coast off Uchinoura, Kagoshima, Kyushu Island, southern Japan. The remaining two young individuals, both measuring 332.0 mm in dorsal mantle length with total weights of 390.63 and 356.95 g respectively, were caught on the coast off Hamada, Shimane, south-western Sea of Japan. Most morphological traits of all the specimens were consistent with those of A. dux, which was supported by further genetic analysis. Here we present some morphological traits of young giant squids with morphometric data and photographs.

Specimens of the deep-sea scale worm Neopolynoe acanellae (Verrill, 1881) (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) were collected at depths between 466 and 1405 m in Canadian waters while still attached to their host, the pennatulacean coral (sea pen) Pennatula grandis Ehrenberg, 1834. The present records extend the northern latitude of occurrence of N. acanellae in North America by 17o (~2000 km) to include the northern continental shelf of Newfoundland and Labrador and the lower Arctic, off the southern coast of Baffin Island (Canada). Analysis of the worm's intestinal content confirmed the presence of sea pen soft tissues and sclerites, suggesting that this species feeds on its host and is therefore parasitic.

Gymnothorax prolatus is recorded for the first time from the Indian Ocean on the basis of four specimens collected in the Bay of Bengal off India and one from the Arabian Sea off Pakistan. These records extend the range of the species from Taiwan to the north-western Indian Ocean.

Rare and cryptic species can be easily missed during ecological surveys of coral communities. This study reveals a disparity in the reported geographic range of a rare species, Echinomorpha nishihirai, between three different sources; none of which are wholly consistent with the available published occurrence records. Discrepancies in the species ranges reported in two comprehensive online databases are greater for rare, compared with common, coral species, suggesting a need for a more cautious treatment of rare species in biogeographic studies.

The northernmost record of the alien nudibranch Godiva quadricolor is reported here, about 400 km farther north than the previously published one and the farthest to be recorded from the equator. It is also the second published record of this species along the Italian coasts and the first record from the Ligurian Sea. A single specimen was reported during a scuba dive, crawling on small stones inside the Site of Community Importance ‘Fondali Noli – Bergeggi SCI’, at a depth of 3.5 m. The species, described in 1927 in South Africa, is considered to be rapidly expanding its original areal distribution thanks to maritime traffic. A review of the known actual distribution is also reported here.

Leptodius affinis (De Haan, 1835), belonging to the family Xanthidae, is reported for the first time from Gujarat on the western coast of India. The identification of this species is difficult as it is very morphologically similar to another closely related species, Leptodius exaratus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834). Leptodius exaratus is commonly observed in the rocky intertidal areas of the western coast of India. The carapace characters of both species are very similar; however, the morphology of the first male gonopod is the most important and reliable feature for distinguishing these two species. Recent work on these species indicated that Leptodius exaratus could be found in the western Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, whereas Leptodius affinis occurs in waters ranging from the eastern Indian Ocean to the central Pacific Ocean. The present study reports the occurrence of Leptodius affinis on the western side of the Indian Ocean.

The first record of Lebetus guilleti for the Italian seas is reported here. The finding is based on photographic records of specimens located in shallow waters off the Conero Promontory (An) along the Adriatic coast of Italy. This record expands the distribution range of this species in the Mediterranean and moves its southern limit in the Adriatic Sea 170 km further south, adding to the suspicion that the distribution of this cryptic species might be wider than previously described. Recreational SCUBA diving focused on biodiversity observations and underwater photography proved instrumental again in providing information about the presence and distribution of marine fauna, including the most easily overlooked species.

Heteropanope glabra Stimpson, 1858 belonging to family Pilumnidae is reported for the first time from the mangrove mudflats of India. The identification of the species is difficult because the species shares similar morphological characters with other closely related species like Benthopanope indica (De Man, 1887). Studies in the past have reported the presence of H. glabra from coastal areas of Burma to Japan. The present study reports the presence of H. glabra on the western coast of India, which lies outside the old distribution range of the species.

The new occurrence of a mytilid, Modiolus barbatus is recorded for the first time in Kerala based on a single specimen associated with the seaweed, Ulva lactuca in the intertidal zones of the Vizhinjam coast. The distributional range of this species is extended from the south-eastern coast to the south-western coast of India. Currently, seven species of the genus Modiolus, including Modiolus barbatus, are recognized from the Indian coast.

The Hawaiian Archipelago contains some of the best surveyed black coral populations on the globe; however, most previous surveys have grouped all black coral species into a single category. As a result, the unique ecological features of individual species have not been identified. This study mapped the spatial distribution of eight antipatharian species (Antipathes griggi, Antipathes grandis, Cirrhipathes cf. anguina, Stichopathes echinulata, Stichopathes? sp., Aphanipathes verticillata, Acanthopathes undulata and Myriopathes cf. ulex) found in shallow-waters (<150 m) along the Hawaiian Archipelago, and compared data on substrate type, depth and temperature among species. All black coral species were exclusively recorded on hard substrates and were generally widely distributed along the Hawaiian Islands. Additionally, antipatharian species were found at overlapping depths and temperatures, although there were significant differences in the mean depths and temperatures between most species. In cases where species did not have significant differences in mean depths, the overlapping species had different colony and polyp morphologies, which may serve to minimize competition by allowing species to grow most efficiently under particular current regimes. This study represents one of the first to map the spatial distribution of sympatric antipatharian species, and indicates that individual species exploit unique environments in terms of depth and temperature or have unique morphologies to avoid overlap.

A new species of stephid calanoids copepod Stephos grieveae sp. nov. was collected from an anchialine cave on Mljet Island (Croatia). The new species can be distinguished from other Stephos spp. by a combination of the following features: last pedigerous somite slightly asymmetrical, female genital double-somite symmetrical in ventral view, about as long as wide, single operculum; antennules of both sexes are symmetrical, 24-segmented and very long, reaching almost to end of anal somite; antennal exopod 7-segmented; maxillule displays 13 armature elements on praecoxal arthrite; female fifth legs symmetrical, uniramous and 3-segmented, terminal segment very long armed with spinules distally along inner and outer margins, single small spine on anterior surface and spiniform process laterally; male fifth legs are uniramous and asymmetrically, right leg 4-segmented and left 5-segmented, segment 4 not swollen and segment 5 simple, crescent shaped and is connected to segment 4 at approximately one quarter of its length. The shorter part of segment 5 tapers into a heavy process, while the longer part forms a club-shaped, curved extension.

Genetically verified catch data from fishers in eastern Indonesia provide new distribution records for the fossil shark Hemipristis elongata in the Halmahera, Seram and Arafura seas. Previously only recorded from the island of Java, this study reports a range extension for this species of >2000 km across the Indonesian archipelago, suggesting that fossil sharks are subjected to fishing pressure over a much larger geographic area than implied by previous species records. We recommend a review of the current species assessment to reflect the reported range extension and inform management of this fishery-targeted shark.

Sea cucumbers (phylum Echinodermata) are common members of benthic communities in many marine ecosystems. They function as nutrient recyclers and bioturbators of soft bottoms, and are preyed upon by birds, fishes, mollusks, crustaceans and other taxa. In the Central Mexican Pacific, Islas Marietas harbours a complex and diverse community of corals and benthic invertebrates, with a particularly well-represented assemblage of echinoderms. However, little is known about the diversity of holothurians in the area. Between 2012 and 2014 a bimonthly census was conducted at Islas Marietas, and seven species were recorded for the first time at this location: Holothuria (Halodeima) inornata, Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) hilla, Holothuria (Platyperona) difficilis, Neocucumis veleronis, Lissothuria ornata, Afrocucumis ovulum and Pachythyone pseudolugubris. The absence of previous records of these species may be associated with their low densities and cryptic habits. This report acts to fill a critical knowledge gap in the distribution of holothurians in the eastern tropical Pacific and highlights the under-appreciated biodiversity of this Natural Protected Area.

Pseudoceros irretitus, Pseudoceros cruentus and Tytthosoceros lizardensis, species of the order Polycladida are reported for the first time from India. The photographs of live specimens and description are given. This study adds three more pseudocerotids to the polyclad fauna of India.

Southern range extensions of the tropical Australian heterobranch sea slug fauna may be symptomatic of climate change, particularly in south-eastern Australia, a recognized climate change hot-spot. In the Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern New South Wales, the presence of biogeographic mixing means that the southern coastal distribution limit of several tropical marine species and the northern limit of some temperate species overlap. During a year-long series of monthly surveys of sea slug communities on intertidal rocky shores, we observed four species beyond their previously recorded range – Colpodaspis thompsoni, Elysia pusilla, Phidiana bourailli and Herviella claror. The southern migration of species is an anticipated response to warming seas and we note an apparent extension of the southern limit for these taxa.