Three specimens of Platyscelus armatus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea: Platyscelidae) are reported from coastal waters of the Canary Islands, Spain; these are the first records from these waters. The specimens were collected south-west of Tenerife and El Hierro Islands during the ‘CETOBAPH 2012' (April 2012) oceanographic cruise. Morphological and morphometric measurements of the specimens, geographical and bathymetric distribution of this species and a key to species of the genus reported in the Canary Islands are provided.

The family Polychelidae includes thirty-eight species of blind deep-sea lobsters distributed in six genera. Five species are recorded from the south-western Atlantic region: Pentacheles laevis; Pentacheles validus; Polycheles typhlops; Stereomastis sculpta; and Willemoesia forceps. Herein we analysed material sampled in deep Brazilian waters adding the first record of Stereomastis nana to the south-western Atlantic region. An identification key to all south-western Atlantic polychelids is provided.

A spinetail devilray (Mobula japanica) was recorded for the first time in the western waters of Australia. The beach-stranded individual was observed in March 2013 on the southern coast of Western Australia (latitude 34.8811°S, longitude 118.4079°E). This is the southernmost record of this species in Australian waters. Previous Australian records of this species have been restricted to the east coast, where sightings have been within the latitudinal range of 14–33°S. The individual observed in Western Australia was a mature male, with a disc width of 257 cm. The occurrence coincided with the maximum recorded summer sea surface temperature (22.0°C) along the southern coast of Western Australia and an abnormally strong flow in the Leeuwin Current for that time of year.

Hybrid cetaceans have been documented to occur both in the wild and in captivity. Identifying wild hybrid individuals can be problematic in the absence of genetic techniques, but published accounts indicate that intermediate morphological characteristics are often present. Between 2010 and 2013, a land-based and boat-based study of the Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) was carried out in nearshore waters around the Eye Peninsula located on north-east Lewis, Scotland. Three atypical individuals were photographed which exhibited morphological features intermediate between Grampus and the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). These individuals were typically larger in body size than Tursiops, and had a dorsal fin shape and size consistent with Grampus. Two individuals had coloration most similar to Tursiops and the third exhibited extensive white linear scarring consistent with Grampus. The intermediate morphology was most apparent in the head shape, with all three individuals exhibiting a defined (in contrast to Grampus) but very short (compared with Tursiops) rostrum and two having an unusually steep (compared with Tursiops) forehead. On one occasion, one of the atypical individuals was observed within a mixed-species school of Grampus and Tursiops. There were four further sightings of atypical dolphins associated with Tursiops-only schools. Atypical dolphins were not recorded within Grampus-only schools. These observations are consistent with hybridization between free-ranging Risso's and bottlenose dolphins, the first such occurrence to be documented for these species in UK waters. The context and significance of these hybridization events are unknown.

The north-west Atlantic amphipod Ptilohyale littoralis has been introduced to The Netherlands. After its initial discovery in the port of Rotterdam, additional specimens were collected near the national centre of shellfish trade and culture Yerseke and along the Westerschelde estuary, which leads to the port of Antwerp.

The velvet dogfish, Zameus squamulosus, is a poorly known deep water shark, known from the Atlantic, Indian, western, central and south-eastern Pacific Oceans. In this paper, the first record of the velvet dogfish, caught from the eastern North Pacific is reported. The shark, a male 533 mm in total length, was caught by bottom trawl at a depth of 770.7 m off Long Beach, California (33°43′15″N 118°32′14″W), USA.

The first record of the hen-like blenny Aidablennius sphynx from the Syrian waters is reported. Monthly fish samples were taken along the Syrian coast throughout the period 2012–2013 and 21 individuals were caught at one location only during September 2012 and September 2013. Their morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported.

Here we report on the first records of the families Parazoanthidae and Microzoanthidae and by extension for the suborder Macrocnemina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) from the Red Sea. Despite a long history of zoantharian research in the region, previous records only reported species of the suborder Brachycnemina, from the genera Zoanthus and Palythoa. Both Parazoanthus sp. and Microzoanthus sp. specimens were first found from the same small coral cave at a reef at Jaz'air Sila, Saudi Arabia, and subsequently observed at another location in the northern Red Sea. Numerous Antipathozoanthus sp. colonies were observed at Marker 9 north of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia in association with antipatharians inside small caves. The Parazoanthus sp. was in association with numerous encrusting sponge species on the roof of the cave, similar to previously reported undescribed species in the Pacific Ocean. Microzoanthus sp. was found on hard rubble on the cave floor. These records represent large range extensions (e.g. thousands of kilometres) for each genus, demonstrating the overall lack of research on the order Zoantharia, especially within the Red Sea.

We report two opportunistic and unusual observations of white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) in the Canadian Arctic that are outside the known range of this species. Sightings occurred off the south-east coast of Baffin Island (Nunavut, Canada) in Frobisher Bay (September 2004) and Cumberland Sound (August 2013). Despite dedicated, multi-year marine mammal surveys in the region (boat-based and aerial), white-beaked dolphins have not previously been reported in the eastern Davis Strait. Our sightings suggest that white-beaked dolphins may infrequently inhabit coastal waters off south-eastern Baffin Island, and furthermore, that their habitat use may correspond with recent changes in prey distribution and availability.

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a rarely sighted cetacean species that is currently believed to be confined to tropical and subtropical waters. This paper presents four sightings off the east coast of Australia that are believed to be the most southerly sightings of pygmy killer whales worldwide (approximately 37.31°S) and extend the range of this species into temperate regions of Australia. Group sizes ranged from 20–70 individuals and on two occasions a second cetacean species was noted in the presence of the pygmy killer whales. All four sightings occurred when water temperatures were particularly warm for the area (21–25.8°C) and demonstrate the potential for changes in the strength of warm water currents to influence species distributions.

The range of the sicklefin lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens) is expanded to include Palmyra Atoll, in the Northern Line Islands, central Pacific. Despite the fact that researchers have been studying reef and lagoon flat habitats of the Atoll since 2003, lemon sharks were first observed in 2010, suggesting a recent colonization event. To date, only juveniles and sub-adult sharks have been observed.

This paper reports for the first time the presence of Holothuria (Roweothuria) arguinensis in the Algerian coastal waters. Individuals of this species were taken from the Tamentefoust area (Bay of Algiers, Algeria, 3°13′E 36°48′N) at 4.5 m depth and examined, using traditional morphological and endoskeletal characters. The general body form and the ossicles are in accordance with the descriptions of the species obtained in the literature.

Here we report two new records of a naticid and strombid species from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In addition, we also provide an updated checklist of Naticidae and Strombidae species that are known from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands based on available literature and holdings at National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India.

We report new geographical and bathymetric occurrence information for several species of brisingidan asteroids (Asteroidea: Brisingida) in eastern Canada. We recorded Brisinga costata, Freyella microspina and Novodinia americana in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), extending the geographical ranges of these species northward. Brisinga costata and F. microspina occur up to 350 m shallower in NL than elsewhere in their published ranges, while N. americana occurs 567 m deeper. We also confirm the presence of Freyella elegans, a possibly cosmopolitan species found throughout the North Atlantic but not previously reported in Canadian waters.

The basket star Gorgonocephalus eucnemis is a common ophiuroid resident of rocky bottoms and artificial substrata at depths of 8 to 1,850 m, and in the eastern Pacific is distributed from the Bering Sea to San Diego, USA. This paper presents a new record of this species obtained with a submersible at Guadalupe Island, Mexico (29.10976°N, −118.25417°W), which extends its distribution range over 400 km, and corresponds to the southernmost site of occurrence of this ophiuroid in the eastern Pacific.

Specimens of blunthead puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster, known previously from the western Mediterranean, were recorded for the first time in Syrian marine waters (eastern Mediterranean). Their morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported.

The interstitial hoplonemertean Ototyphlonemertes duplex, originally described from Naples, is collected for the first time on the Spanish Mediterranean coast at the Cabo de Gata Natural Park (Mediterranean, south-east Spain). Morphological data and pictures of this species are provided.

This is the first published report of this species in Australia as well as the Indian Ocean (Seychelles), Thailand and Grand Bahama. Originally described from Jamaica, Tripedalia cystophora has since been found in the Philippines, Ecuador, Japan, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Indonesia and Florida. Moreover, this report from Australia is now the southerly-most locality for this species, bringing its total global distribution from 32°N to 28°S latitude. Because of its broad and expanding distribution, and its preferred habitat of mangrove thickets that occur at higher latitudes than its current distribution, T. cystophora may become a model organism for tracking climate-related high latitude range expansion.

Astracme mucronata and Ophiopaepale goesiana are recorded for the first time from the Brazilian coast. The specimens examined were collected from the States of Ceará (Canopus Bank) and Rio Grande do Norte (Potiguar Basin) in north-eastern Brazil. Descriptions, geographical range and taxonomy notes about the species are provided. This study expands the number of species of Ophiuroidea for the Brazilian coast from 134 to 136 species.

This is the first record of the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus being found in the eastern English Channel. A specimen was caught on 15 October 2012 off the port of Courseulles-sur-mer. It measured 31.6 cm and weighted 800 g. From a study of its sagittal otolith, this specimen appeared to be 9 years old.