The first records of Caranx ignobilis and Naso annulatus in the Galapagos Archipelago are reported based on several sightings from its northernmost island, Darwin. For C. ignobilis this also represents its first record from the Tropical Eastern Pacific region, considerably expanding its geographical distribution. Vagrant status is proposed for both species in the Galapagos shore fish list.

Three specimens of the panopeid crab Acantholobulus pacificus are reported from the subtidal zone of the Port of Yokohama, Tokyo Bay, Japan. The discovery of the species in the bay is the first record of the species from the western North Pacific, as well as from Japan. Its presence there is treated as an introduced species. A description of the Japanese specimens is provided.

Acanthurus monroviae is reported for the first time in European Atlantic waters. One adult specimen of this species was observed and photographed in the Arrábida Marine Park (Portugal, 38.43°N9.07°W) in December 2007. Short term temperature changes associated with warmer winters may favour the occurrence of vagrant individuals of tropical species in this temperate biogeographic transition zone. This area is considered an important ‘barometer' for studying the effects of climate change with possibly permanent expansions of the geographical ranges of these species.

The first specimen of Sladenia shaefersi captured in waters of the Gulf of Mexico is reported. This record along with two other specimens reported between 2007 and 2009 extend the species range to the Gulf of Mexico, the western North Atlantic and into the Corner Rise Seamount. A comparison of the morphometric characters from the available data and an illustration of the esca are provided. The distribution of the species is discussed.

The schooling behaviour of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana was observed over 4 summers at 3 observation sites in the coastal waters of Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. During this field study, 3 static appearances (belt, ball and sheet shape) and 2 transitional appearances (high and low density) were noted, recorded and described. In addition to formations, a member of S. lessoniana schools also displayed particular and repeated behavioural patterns such as vanguard and intimidating display. The 3 observation sites were tropical coral reefs near the coastline at a depth of 1 to 15 m on an average. All participating observers snorkelled and were equipped with various underwater digital video and photographic cameras. The schools observed consisted of 8 to over 100 members with a wide range of body sizes. Despite these biological and locational differences, both static and transitional appearances were consistently observed with equally consistent individual behavioural patterns. There have been studies on related species, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, at the San Blas Islands along the Caribbean coast of eastern Panama, and the same species, S. lessoniana, at a different geographical location, Casuarina Beach on Lizard Island, Australia. The findings of this study are consistent with those reported previously, with some notable differences.

The present paper reports two scyphozoan species for the coast of Pakistan: the semaeostome Pelagia cf. noctiluca and the rhizostome Catostylus perezi. Both species are described and systematic characters used for identification are discussed for both. We also questioned the previous record of C. mosaicus in Pakistan assuming it to be of C. perezi.

Seven taxa including three new species of Mallacoota are reported from the South Pacific locations of Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the Kermadec Islands. Mallacoota mizegwaden sp. nov. was collected from Papua New Guinea, and M. lifou sp. nov. and M. xepenehe sp. nov. from New Caledonia including the Loyalty Islands. Additional material of M. nananui Myers, 1985 is identified from New Caledonia, supporting previous records by Ledoyer, 1984. Three species, Mallacoota capricornia Lowry & Hughes, 2009; M. chiltoni Kilgallen & Ahyong, 2011 and M. sirius Hughes, 2011 are reported from the Kermadec Islands. There are now 33 known species of Mallacoota, with 19 species occurring in tropical to subtropical waters.

The population of the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea in the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, a small Spanish peninsula located on the North African coast (south-west Mediterranean) was evaluated by surveys carried out in June and October 2012. Overall, 567 specimens were recorded along the entire coastline (about 1320 m) of this enclave (169 individuals measured >30 mm in maximum diameter of the shell, likely adults, and 398 specimens were <30 mm, likely immature individuals). In this site an average 0.13 adults/m was registered, and the maximum density observed was 0.90 adults/m in some zones. This points out the importance of this enclave among the present known populations existing in Spanish territories of this highly endangered limpet, but particularly highlights the role of the adjacent North African coastal protected areas in the conservation of this species.

Two specimens of Xanthichthys lineopunctatus of total length 254 mm and 293 mm were collected from hook and line units operating off Kerala near Lakshadweep on the south-west coast of India in October 2004 and November 2005. The species is characterized by an oblong compressed body with a small mouth, yellowish brown body traversed horizontally by incomplete reddish brown lines from the operculum which become dotted lines on ventral area. This is the first report of the genus from Indian waters and an addition to the nine genera and thirteen species of balistids already reported from Indian waters. The descriptions of the specimens collected are provided with possible cause of range extension due to temperature changes in its natural habitat.

This paper describes a rare sighting of an anomalously white harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the coastal waters of the outer Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. The recording provides the first photographs of such an individual from the northern North Sea. At an estimated body length of 1.5 m, the present animal had evidently survived to adulthood, in spite of its condition, confirming the potential longevity of such hypo-pigmented individuals in the wild. Further recaptures of this naturally-marked animal may provide valuable information on the site fidelity and long-term spatial movements of these notoriously difficult to study cetaceans.

The presence of the non-indigenous species, the black-pygmy mussel Limnoperna securis, was surveyed for the first time in the Rias of Pontevedra and Arousa, areas adjacent to the first location (Ria of Vigo) of this potential invader in Atlantic waters. Molecular identification of the mussels was conducted by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of nuclear and mitochondrial genes. This paper describes for the first time the species in the Ria of Pontevedra, confirming that this invader was absent in an intense shellfish farming area of the Ria of Arousa (Galicia, north-western Spain). Field sampling revealed that relatively high concentrations of this mytilid bivalve have colonized some localities of the inner part of the Ria of Pontevedra located in brackish waters. A comparison between population densities, size and substrate preference of L. securis in the Rias of Pontevedra and Vigo was conducted. Dispersion capacity of L. securis is discussed based on molecular detection of larval stages in the stomach contents of the copepod Centropages typicus coupled with physical oceanography of the southern Galician Rias. The invasive role of L. securis is also discussed in the context of the bissus secretion and attachment strength, ecological tolerance of the species, and the recent finding of settlements of this species on numerous colonies of the economically important blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

The shrimp scad, Alepes djedaba is known to be established in the eastern Levant. The present study describes a case of a school (100 specimens) caught with purse seine on 14 June 2012 in Tunisia (Gulf of Gabès: 34°10′240 10°58′180) that constitutes the first record of its westernmost appearance.

The present paper reports the first finding of two gastropod species, Aporrhais pespelecani and Turritella communis in the north-western part of the Black Sea more than 500 km north from the edge of their native range (the Bosphorus Strait). The possible role of different hydrological factors in a spread of the species range, their perspective influence on the local demersal community and probable vectors of dissemination are discussed.

We collected 138 Kumamoto like oyster specimens in and around the Nakatsu tidal flat to monitor species diversity. The mitochondrial large subunit of ribosomal DNA (LSrDNA) and the nuclear ribosomal internally transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, leading to the discovery of the Kumamoto oyster Crassostrea sikamea in the Nakatsu tidal flat. A more accurate species identification using the nucleotide sequences for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and ITS-1 confirmed the presence of the oysters. These results provide the first evidence of C. sikamea in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan.

The first case of abnormal cephalic horns in the California bat ray, Myliobatis californica was found in one male juvenile specimen caught in a gillnet by artisanal elasmobranch fishermen on the west coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The specimen had three cephalic horns, two in the cephalic lobes zone and one in the rostral middle zone which could be indicative of a morphogenetic plasticity in these taxa that may have facilitated the evolution of rhinopterid and mobulid species from a common myliobatid ancestor with a similar role of feeding in Mobulidae and Rhinopteridae subfamilies.

Two species of the red algae genus Cottoniella, C. filamentosa and C. fusiformis, are reported for the first time from North Carolina, USA. A vegetative structure that includes four pericentral cells and two flanking cells that are cut off from the lateral pericentral cells is characteristic of both species. The two species are distinguished by the number of monosiphonous filaments that develop on each segment with C. filamentosa having one and C. fusiformis having two. Development of tetrasporangia in C. fusiformis also was observed for the first time and found to follow a similar pattern to that reported for C. filamentosa except that adaxial cover cells may cut off additional corticating cells in this species. No specimens of Cottoniella were found during extensive surveys of North Carolina's offshore algal flora in the 1970s and many additional collections made from 2004 to 2007. Both species have been found in collections from four sites since August 2007 and it is believed that these represent a northern range expansion along the United States east coast. The previous United States distribution limit for C. filamentosa was the Florida Keys, 1300 km south from North Carolina and this is the first report of C. fusiformis in the United States.

Alien benthic foraminiferal assemblages of Samandag and Yayladagı coasts (Hatay, Turkey) have been investigated. 41 genera and 58 species of benthic foraminifers were identified and Indo-Pacific originated alien species were found to dominate the foraminiferal assemblage. Pararotalia calcariformata which shows distribution in the western Pacific is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea.

The sea chub Kyphosus incisor is an herbivorous fish, native of the Atlantic Ocean. So far, it has been reported only once from Mediterranean waters, along the Ligurian coast, in 2009. Here we document an earlier Mediterranean record of this species, which was captured in the vicinity of Almuñécar (Granada, western Mediterranean Sea) in June 1998.

The nudibranch Thordisa villosa is recorded for the first time from the west coast of India. It is the third known record of this species from India, observed after a long gap of 60 years. The last known record of this species from India was by Satyamurti (1952), from the Gulf of Mannar on the south-east coast. Specimens were collected in the intertidal rocky shores of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The occurrence of the species at three study sites confirms its range in this part of the Indian coastline.

Pseudodiaptomus marinus was described from eastern Asian waters and has subsequently been spread in the Indo-Pacific region, but has only been found in European waters since 2007. The presence of the species in inshore waters of the Southern Bight of the North Sea, in Calais Harbour and off Gravelines was noted in 2010 and 2011. The present records from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey extend the known distribution northwards and across the Southern Bight between The Netherlands and British coasts. Net hauls for biological monitoring in the German exclusive economic zone add a location further north and east in the German Bight. Spread of the species to inshore waters of the eastern North Sea and to the Baltic is predicted.