A case of bicephaly in embryos of the blue shark Prionace glauca in the Mexican Pacific Ocean is described. Malformed female shark embryos were found in pregnant females caught in the Gulf of California (Punta Arenas) and off the western coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico (San Lázaro). Abnormal sharks showed a symmetric bicephaly that could be caused by the high number of embryos found in the uterus of the blue shark, which is the most fecund species of shark in the world. The abnormality probably began during the embryonic development.

During studies of mangrove communities in central Vietnam (Nhatrang Bay, Tre Is and Dam Bay) a heterosexual pair of pontoniine shrimp, Neoanchistus cardiodytes, was found in the mantle cavity of the deeply burrowing bivalve Mactra grandis (Mactridae). This is the fourth record of pontoniine shrimps in symbiosis with burrowing bivalves, the second record of this species as well as its first record from Vietnam and the Pacific Ocean. A representative of the family Mactridae is firstly reported as a host for pontoniine shrimps and a new host for N. cardiodytes.

Five colonies of the rare pennatulacean Crassophyllum thessalonicae were recently collected from Thermaikos Gulf (north-east Mediterranean), which allowed a study of their biometry; accordingly, new features are added to the original description of the species. Based on these data the morphological characters that distinguish C. thessalonicae from its congeners are reviewed.

Very little information exists about the cetaceans of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire (ABC Islands), in the southern Caribbean. During the first dedicated cetacean surveys for the coastal waters of Aruba, photographic evidence for the occurrence of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens), Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) was obtained. These represent the first confirmed records of P. crassidens and S. frontalis for the ABC Islands and of S. longirostris for Aruba.

Reproduction remains poorly understood in the Onychoteuthidae, with information previously published on only six of the ~25 species, from three of the seven genera. Herein new information is presented for a further five species from four genera: mated and spent females are reported from the genera Onychoteuthis, Onykia, Notonykia and Callimachus, and the morphologies and locations of implanted spermatangia for the species Onychoteuthis meridiopacifica and Onykia aequatorialis are provided. Males of the genus Onychoteuthis are found to implant spermatangia within longitudinal cuts in the female's mantle surface, while males of Onykia implant individual spermatangia into the female's mantle at various locations, without a specific associated wound. These different implantation strategies are discussed in the context of mating and fertilization. A bulb-like structure at the aboral end of the spermatangium, possibly unique to the genus Onychoteuthis, is also described and examined and its function discussed. All onychoteuthids examined herein are observed to undergo extreme late-life physical degeneration.

A new capture of Kyphosus saltatrix in the eastern Ligurian Sea confirms the increasing presence of this species in the Mediterranean Sea.

The present paper reports the first record of Piseinotecus gabinierei (Mollusca: Piseinotecidae) in the Aegean Sea; the nudibranchs were found in December 2008 in two different sites on the island of Crete (South Greece). In the first location it was feeding on Eudendrium racemosum, a hydroid very common in this area while in the second location it was found crawling among algae.

Photo-identification of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus L.) was carried out off the south coast of Ireland between 2003 and 2008. During 79 research trips, mainly on-board a whale watching vessel, 62 individual fin whales were identified using a variety of marks, including notches in the dorsal fin, blotches and scars. Forty (65%) of these whales were only seen once but eleven whales (18%) have been recorded within a year on up to four occasions within a season and eleven whales (18%) re-sighted between years with one recorded in four and one in five of the last seven years. Re-sighting rate varied depending on the marks used to identify whales but was 17.7% overall. The mean interval between the first and last reported sighting was 33.2 days, with a minimum of one day and a maximum interval of 165 days. The south coast of Ireland is an important site for fin whales and provides excellent research opportunities due to their close proximity to land.

Six deep-sea fish species are recorded for the first time off north-eastern Brazil: Conger esculentus, Talismania homoptera, Physiculus kaupi, Ectreposebastes imus, Centrodraco oregonus and an unidentified species of Myroconger. The material was caught during the Programme REVIZEE (Programme for Assessment of the Sustainable Yield of Living Resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone) and by commercial fishery operations from 1998 to 2005 off the coasts of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte States. These new records extend the geographical distribution range and fill geographical distribution gaps of the species herein reported.

A living specimen of a solemyid bivalve was collected at bathyal depths near a pockmark in the Nile Deep-sea Fan (eastern Mediterranean) and is here presented. Both taxonomic and molecular results suggest a Solemya species but due to the small size of the animal and the lack of molecular data for other solemyid species the species cannot be determined. This is the first record of a living solemyid from deep-sea cold seeps in the Mediterranean Basin.

The identity of a dotillid intertidal crab from exposed sandy beaches within the Laem Son National Park along the Andaman Coast in Thailand was investigated. The species was identified as Dotilla intermedia De Man, 1888, which represents the first record of this species from Thailand. A description of the species is provided and a lectotype is designated from the type series.

We report on the recent captures of the bramble shark, Echinorhinus brucus, from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. A short description is given. Based on available data, current status of the species in the Sea of Marmara is discussed.

Two specimens of the pelagic nemertean Protopelagonemertes beebei Coe, 1936 were collected in Sagami Bay, Japan. Kimura-2-parameter distance based on the partial sequences (616 base pairs) of cytochrome c oxidase gene between the present material and that previously reported as an unidentified specimen of the genus Protopelagonemertes collected from off California, USA was 5.6%, implying that these are closely related, and may belong to the same species. A description of the internal morphology based on serial transverse sections of the body is provided. The material showed an intermediate character state in the number of proboscis nerves between what had formerly been reported as P. beebei and P. hubrechti (Brinkmann, 1917), posing a question on the species delimitation.

The lessepsian migrant fish Decapterus russelli was recorded for the first time on the coast of Turkey, north-eastern Mediterranean. A sampling campaign was carried out from January 2008 to March 2010. A total of sixty-seven specimens was caught with trawl nets at a depth of 15–18 m. Decapterus russelli was found in Iskenderun Bay on 17 October 2009, Mersin Bay and Erdemli Bay on 17, 18 and 23 March 2010. Some morphometric and meristic characteristics of this species are presented here.

The present work brings information about the first sightings of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, in the oceanic island of Trindade, 1140 km off the Brazilian coast. Nine days of opportunistic boat surveys were performed between December 2009 and March 2010, totalling 54 hours of sampling effort. Three sightings were obtained of the bottlenose dolphin, varying from 1 single animal to a group with 10 dolphins, including calves. One group was observed and filmed underwater. Sighting depth varied from 5 to 35 m and distance from the coast was registered between 70 to 300 m. Comparing our results with other studies in the Brazilian oceanic islands shows similarities in the location of the sightings as well the reported group size and the presence of calves suggesting that bottlenose dolphins may be using these environments to socialize and take care of the young dolphins. Because the oceanic islands constitute fragile and isolated ecosystems it is crucial to have a better understanding of the conservation of their marine life, including top predator animals such as the bottlenose dolphins.

A survey of the distribution, percentage coverage, and diversity of octocoral fauna on the south-west coast of India yielded fourteen species from six families: Clavulariidae, Nephtheidae, Melithaeidae, Plexauridae, Gorgoniidae and Ellisellidae. This study produced ten new zoogeographical records of octocoral species to India, two species which were first records to the shallow water fauna (11–12 m depth), and one found to be a potential new record to the Indian coast. Octocoral coverage was <1% at all sites and diversity ranged from 6–13 species among the five study sites.

The fauna and population densities of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae: Perciformes) were studied at the Cobourg Marine Park (CMP), Cobourg Peninsula in the Arafura Sea, the Northern Territory, Australia. A total of five genera and 17 species of butterflyfish were recorded within the CMP, including nine new records for the Northern Territory. Goldstripe butterflyfish Chaetodon aureofasciatus Macleay, the most common and abundant species represented 64.3% of all 883 butterflyfish recorded followed by the Philippine butterflyfish Chaetodon adiergastos Seale (14.9%), margined butterflyfish Chelmon marginalis Richardson (10.8%), triangle butterflyfish Chaetodon baronessa Cuvier (5.1%) and chevroned butterflyfish C. trifascialis Quoy and Gaimard (1.2%). The CMP contains the richest chaetodontid fauna among all sites surveyed so far in the Northern Territory. Population density of the endemic Australian species Chelmon marginalis in the CMP is the highest across its range within studied locations. Abundances of Chaetodon adiergastos at Cobourg are similar to areas in the Philippines and Malaysia where population density of this species is the highest in the Indo-West Pacific region.

Between October and November 2010, several individuals of Fistularia commersonii, a lessepsian species, were fished by trammel nets in less than two weeks along the French coast in the north-western Mediterranean. These catches represent the most important records of the species in the western basin of the Mediterranean to date, specifically in areas where the species has rarely been observed before. This paper synthesizes the records of F. commersonii along the French coast starting from the first record in November 2007 until the most recent reports, and discusses the present status of the species in the north-western Mediterranean Sea.

Here we report direct underwater observations of the pom pom anemone Liponema multicornis at sites in the western Gulf of Maine. The paucity of records from historic collections as well as recent studies suggest this species is widespread but numerically rare across the region. We found this species hosts high numbers of the commensal amphipod Stenothoe brevicornis amongst the tentacles. In addition, pandalid shrimp were observed using the anemone for shelter by occupying space around the distal edges of the tentacles and as a food source by feeding on bits of mucous. Krill were also observed feeding on amphipods occurring amongst the tentacles. A long history of using bottom contact fishing gear in the region may have reduced abundance, thereby reducing the functional role of L. multicornis as a source for refuge and prey of several crustacean species.

The present contribution reports on a small collection of caridean shrimps from Qatar. Six species are reported upon, three of which are new additions to the caridean fauna of the Persian Gulf, also representing the first records for the crangonid genus Philocheras and the family Pandalidae from the area. An annotated checklist of species known to date from the Persian Gulf is provided, totalling 59 species.