Four specimens of the peristediid genus Satyrichthys were sampled with bottom long-lines from a depth of 180 m during the VA ‘Farumas’ Reef Fish Survey off North Malé Atoll, Maldives, in 1999. The largest and smallest of these specimens were deposited at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (BPBM 34965, standard length (SL) 278.25 mm; BPBM 41160, SL 413.65 mm). Based on measurements and meristic counts, BPBM 34965 is characterized as Satyrichthys laticeps and BPBM 41160 is characterized as Satyrichthys cf. kikingeri. Satyrichthys laticeps is not only recorded for the first time for the Republic of the Maldives, but also complements distribution data on the species in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Satyrichthys kikingeri, hitherto known only from a single specimen collected in 2012 from Rasdhoo Atoll in the Maldives, is now documented by a second specimen.

A sighting of four Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) was recorded and photographed close to the Benin coast on 3 November 2013. This is the first record of the species for Benin, and also represents the first verified record within a 3,065 km stretch of coast extending from Sierra Leone to Nigeria (encompassing the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea). The sighting supports the possibility that some other potential range states may have remained unconfirmed to date due to a paucity of field research in suitable nearshore habitat rather than an absence of the species.

The stalked barnacle Dosima fascicularis is reported from Uruguayan waters for the first time based on stranded specimens. It is suggested that the Subtropical Front is the main area of occurrence of D. fascicularis in the South Atlantic and its occurrence on the Uruguayan coast was found to be sporadic and mainly related to singular atmospheric and oceanographic factors that cast ‘blue plankton’ ashore (e.g. easterly and south-easterly winds, and prevalence of tropical waters).

We hereby provide new distributional data for alien and possible alien molluscs from the Italian seas, together with a brief review of their known Italian distribution and updated distributional maps. In particular, Haminoea cyanomarginata is confirmed for the Calabrian shores of the Strait of Messina area and is first reported from eastern and western Sicily, therefore suggesting a natural spreading into the Italian central Mediterranean Sea. Melibe viridis is confirmed for the Ionian Calabrian shores and Sardinia, where it was previously known from isolated records only. Pinctada imbricata radiata is first reported as naturally widening its distribution in Sardinia and in the Gulf of Taranto, where new populations are soon awaited, whilst Aplysia dactylomela is now expanding its range along the Italian Adriatic shores. And last, recent records of Anadara transversa from the Sabaudia Lake testify the role of lagoon systems as hot-spots for the introduction and secondary spreading of alien species, and indicate mussel aquaculture as the likely vector of introduction for its occurrence.

Eight species of alpheid shrimps are reported for the first time from the coral reef systems off Mexico's northern Yucatan Peninsula (Alacranes, Madagascar and Serpiente Reefs). These species are: Alpheus immaculatus; Alpheus paraformosus; Alpheus punctatus; Parabetaeus hummelincki; Salmoneus depressus; Synalpheus chacei; Synalpheus dominicensis; and Synalpheus elizabethae. The geographical ranges of these species are extended into the southern Gulf of Mexico; most of them are recorded from Mexican territorial waters for the first time. Brief notes on their ecology and taxonomy are provided. Six species are illustrated by colour photographs.

This paper provides the most up to date list of the Cuban echinoid fauna. Habitat, depth range, distribution and localities in Cuba are presented for this group. I present here the most recent list of shallow-water sea urchins for the Cuban Archipelago. This catalogue increases the number of shallow-water sea urchins for Cuba to 23 species (subspecies included) distributed in seven orders and 19 genera. I have added the occurrence of the sea urchin Schizaster floridiensis for Cuban shallow waters, and expand the known regional distribution range for this species. Furthermore, I report here two new depth ranges for Schizaster floridiensis and Astropyga magnifica that now begin at ten and two metres depth respectively.

The capture of a female of the bramble shark, Echinorhinus brucus, is presented. It was obtained by sport fishing in Venezuela at a depth of 200 m. Morphological identification is confirmed by comparative analysis of the mitochondrial COX1 gene sequence. This is the first record for this species in the Caribbean Sea.