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.

We report the first record of intersexuality in little tunny Euthynnus alletteratus caught in the Mediterranean Sea. The little tunny were sampled in traps from La Azohía (Murcia) south-eastern Spanish Mediterranean coast and Tarifa (Cádiz) between April and June, during 2003 to 2012. We found a low prevalence of intersexuality (two specimens out of a total of 449 little tunny). We show a detailed histological description.

Rocas is the only atoll in the south-western Atlantic and comprises a shallow platform area of about 360 km2, distant 230 km from the continent and 130 km from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, in Brazil. Since the 1970s, its marine flora has received the attention of several authors, giving rise to considerable and well-established knowledge about its algal biodiversity, with a total of 143 seaweed species reported for the area. Previous efforts stressed the interesting absence of the green algae Halimeda, usually abundant in tropical reefs and one of the most important seaweed groups in the structure of the tropical benthic community. Herein, we report for the first time the presence of Halimeda opuntia at Rocas, collected during an expedition in January 2012. Based on phylogenetic analysis, was proposed that H. opuntia was originated in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and that its establishment in Brazil was independent from populations of the Caribbean as a whole and the Bahamas in particular. Another hypothesis is the current scenario of increased frequency and intensity of extreme events along the Brazilian coast, which could explain the transport of propagules from adjacent areas towards the atoll.

The suctorian ciliates, Thecacineta cothurnioides and Trematosoma rotunda, belonging to the families Thecacinetidae and Acinetidae, were recorded as prominent epibionts on the cuticle of a marine free-living nematode, Chromaspirina sp. (Desmodoridae) from shallow sediments of the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal. The biometrics of these suctorians arecompared with literature data, and their species-specific association with nematodes is discussed.

This paper confirms the occurrence of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, in a Portuguese estuary (Sado estuary), demonstrating a full south-western extension of the species distribution along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts bordering the European continent. The present record associated with current and previous anecdotal occurrence reports suggests that the blue crab has established a population in the Sado estuary but with low census size.

The recently described Escharoides bishopi and the non-native Fenestrulina delicia are recorded for the first time from British waters.

The Red pandora Pagellus bellottii was recorded for the first time in the south-eastern Mediterranean in Haifa Bay, Israel, on 20 January 2010. Apparently, this eastern Atlantic Ocean species has recently started to disperse into the eastern Mediterranean. After an initial record from Syria in 1992, this is the second record from the eastern Mediterranean, which indicates the possibility that small populations may have established themselves there.

Two new records of sponges are registered from Ilha Grande Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), which is an important area in Angra dos Reis for its tourist, economic and environmental contributions. Two species are redescribed in order to elucidate their morphological variations in relation to the known Caribbean specimens: Iotrochota arenosa, a new record to Brazil; and Echinodictyum dendroides, which have now been recorded on the south-east coast of Brazil for the first time. Furthermore, the genus Echinodictyum is redefined.

The Midnight Snapper Macolor macularis, is reported for the first time from the Indian exclusive economic zone based on the two specimens collected from Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Kerala on the south-west coast of India on December 2012 and October 2013. Morphometric and meristic data of the specimens are presented and discussed.

On 19 April 2014, a female goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, was captured in a commercial shrimp trawl in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The shark, estimated to be approximately 5 m in length, was captured at a depth of approximately 490 m and released alive shortly after capture. This specimen represents the second goblin shark ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.