In Iran, the sandfish, Holothuria scabra is the most exploited sea cucumber species which is harvested at Qeshm Island because of the high demand from Indian and Bangladeshi traders. Some specimens of the sea cucumber were collected by snorkellers diving at depth of 5 m at Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. An examination identified the sea cucumbers as H. scabra. Previous research has not found this species in the Persian Gulf. This report is the first to document the highly valued commercial sea cucumber in the Persian Gulf region.

A mass stranding of several species of teleostean fish occurred on the south-eastern beaches of Los Cabos on Mexicós Baja California peninsula between 16 and 21 June 2011. At least 22 species belonging to 17 families, an estimated 50 t, were stranded along 43.5 km of beach from 9 km north-west of the Cabo San Lucas harbour (22°54′ 54.06″N–109°50′ 07.45″W) to Playa San Luis (23°10′41.78″N–109°28′39.49″W). Stranding of fish was attributed to a bloom of the photosynthetic planktonic ciliate Myrionecta rubra by local health authorities; however the information derived from necropsies was not available to the authors, so other causes cannot be excluded.

Paracartia grani originates from high latitudes and has progressively been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea since the 1980s. In Thau lagoon, while Acartia clausi and Acartia discaudata present maximum peaks of abundance from January to April and in November and December, both species being perennial over the year, P. grani and Paracartia latisetosa appear in May, develop during summer, in July and August, and slowly decrease in autumn before disappearing from the water column in December. The Acartiidae populations have changed over the years at our monitoring station. Indeed, P. latisetosa was last recorded in August 1983 while P. grani appeared in the lagoon in 1998.

The occurrence of Marginaster capreensis in the Taranto seas (Ionian Sea, Italy) is reported. The specimens were mostly found in the Gulf of Taranto (N = 17) and only one specimen in the first inlet of the Mar Piccolo Lagoon. The sizes in the sampled population ranged from 6 to 16 mm.

The present contribution reports on a small collection of leucosiid crabs from Qatar. Four species are reported upon, three of which are new additions to the brachyuran fauna of the Persian Gulf, and one, the first record for the species from Qatar.

Sea cucumbers have many important and useful properties known for human health. In this respect and with the lack of scientific knowledge about them, this study has been conducted to identify the present species in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Two species of sea cucumber (one belonging to the genus Holothuria and the other to Stichopus) were collected in the subtidal zone of the northern part of Qeshm Island (Persian Gulf) via SCUBA diving. The literature review on the distribution was determined to be the first report of H. sacabra and S. hermanni from Qeshm Island (Persian Gulf). The species identification was accomplished through morphological keys and review of their ossicles.

We report new records and chorological data for seven French marine algae that make their distribution records more complete. Three species (Erythroglossum lusitanicum, Hildenbrandia occidentalis and Ulva bifrons) are new records for France, two species (Antithamnion hubbsii and Pterocladiella melanoidea) are new records for the French Atlantic coast and two species (Haraldiophyllum bonnemaisonii and Ptilothamnion sphaericum) are new records for the South Atlantic coast of France. Although the Atlantic marine algae of France are well studied, the new findings show that it is still necessary to carry out further floristic studies to complete our knowledge about the marine algae in this region. We describe for the first time mixed phases bearing both cystocarps and tetrasporangia in Lomentaria orcadensis.

Although both Siganus luridus and Siganus rivulatus have been reported from the Maltese Islands in the literature, and on internet sites and databases, there do not seem to be any specific records of S. rivulatus from these islands. In order to address the question whether both or only one of these alien siganids occur in the Maltese Islands, all records of siganids collected or photographed in Maltese waters were evaluated. Thirteen records comprising at least 33 specimens supported by photographs or specimens and 25 records of 48 individual rabbitfish identified in the field were all S. luridus. This suggests that S. rivulatus does not occur in Maltese waters.

This study has been conducted in order to identify the present species in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Samples were collected on the sub tidal zone of Larak Island (Persian Gulf) via SCUBA diving in July 2011. The literature review on the distribution revealed that this is the first report of Holothuria hilla from Larak Island. The species identification was made using morphological keys and review of their ossicles.

From samples taken during the oceanographic cruises TALUD IV–X in the southern and central Gulf of California, Mexico, 291 specimens of Lucinoma heroica were obtained in a depth interval of 731 to 991 m. The species occurred under conditions of severe (<0.1 ml l−1O2) and moderate hypoxia (0.1–0.5 ml l−1O2). The correlation between height and length of the shell showed isometric growth with a trimodal size distribution, showing an average interval of 3.75 mm to 47.40 mm in height and 4.96 mm to 54.00 mm in length. Small individuals (≤20 mm) were distributed in a moderate hypoxic environment, while the larger (>35 mm) tolerated an almost anoxic habitat. Medium-sized specimens (21–35 mm) were found in concentration close to 0.2 ml l−1O2. Average density was 1.532 ind l−1 in infauna samples (dredge and core) and 0.002 ind m−2 in epifauna samples (benthic sledge).

The ammotheid pycnogonid Ammothea hilgendorfi was first recorded outside its native range of the Pacific Ocean in 1978 in southern England and in the Lagoon of Venice in 1979 to 1981. Both occurrences are attributed to anthropogenic dispersion by shipping. Subsequently, it has spread further in the UK to Dorset and, most recently, to Essex. The world distribution of this species and the history of its occurrence outside the Pacific are reviewed, and hypotheses for its recent spread in the UK, via recreational boating, are presented.

During a routine survey, the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini was caught from Nagapattinam coastal waters, south-east coast of India. It is the second time this species has occurred after a long period along the Indian coast, and this substantiates the possibility of its entry from another place.

We document the composition by sex and size of 105 long-beaked common dolphins (57 males and 48 females) from a die-off in January–February 1995 in the upper Gulf of California, Mexico. Total length of males ranged from 191.2–264.7 cm and those of females ranged from 170.0–252.4 cm. These are the largest Delphinus reported to date anywhere in the world.

Qeshm Island is the largest island of the Persian Gulf. It is located in the north-eastern part, near the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Between 2007 and 2010 by support of the Persian Gulf Biotechnology Research Center a collection of the two most dominant macrobenthic fauna groups (Gastropoda and Crustacea) was gathered around the island. A total of 28 intertidal stations were investigated, including four basic habitat types (rocky, sandy, mud flats and mangrove forests), which resulted in a large diversity of species encountered. The present report provides a summary of the collected taxa. A total of 123 taxa belonging to Crustacea and Gastropoda are recorded in the present study. Identification of the species up to the lowest possible level was attempted; about 88% were identified up to species level. In total, 109 species have been identified. Rocky sites were the most diverse intertidal habitats in the island.

In this study we present data on 46 strandings of Bryde's whales along the coast of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States, south-eastern Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stranding pattern of Bryde's whales in south-eastern Brazil. The results show a relationship with annual increasing of strandings in a 20 year period of data collection (1990–2010). No significant seasonal trend was observed among four seasonal categories, but most whales stranded during winter (July–September). Males stranded more frequently than females. There was a significant trend in strandings of sexually mature whales (>11.12 m; 53.6%), but juveniles (≤8 m; 21.9%) were also relatively common. The present work confirms that Bryde's whales are common on the south-eastern Brazilian coast. Some discrepancy in published results from sightings and our results on strandings (e.g. seasonal pattern) was observed and may be related to environmental condition and the presence of inshore and offshore populations with differences in life history and behaviour. No whales showed signals of impact caused by human interactions, despite the potential threats in the study area. Future studies comparing morphology with genetics are suggested to be carried out to elucidate the taxonomic status of the Bryde's whales in Brazil.

The western Atlantic pontoniine shrimp Ascidonia miserabilis is reported for the first time from Atol das Rocas, off Rio Grande do Norte, representing the first record of this species and the genus Ascidonia for Brazil and the south-western Atlantic. In addition, its geographical range in the Caribbean Sea is extended to Honduras and Panama. All specimens of A. miserabilis were collected from inside cryptic ascidians, Acidia spp., in very shallow water (1–2 m). Illustrations of the previously unknown colour pattern of A. miserabilis are provided for the first time.

The present paper reports the first record of occurrence of longfin escolar Scombrolabrax heterolepis in the Indian waters. A single specimen measuring 188.5 mm standard length was collected from a commercial deep-sea shrimp trawl by-catch operated at 220 to 350 m depths in the Arabian Sea off Trivandrum during October 2010. The specimen is described and figured.