Challengeron diodon is reported for the first time from the north-eastern Aegean Sea. The specimen was collected on 18 February 2001 from subsurface (0.5 m) neritic waters with a depth of 30 m, off Bozcaada Island in the Aegean Sea.The primary hydrographic parameters, temperature 13.8°C, salinity 37.4 psu and dissolved oxygen 7.47 mg l−1, were recorded at the sampling station. A synonymy is given, together with a brief diagnosis based on morphological characters and supported by micrographs.

The cleaning behaviour of juveniles of the Brazilian wrasse Halichoeres penrosei (Labridae) is described for the first time in the present paper. Diurnal free dive observations and photographs were taken in the shallow reefs of Porto da Barra. The cleaners' sizes varied from 3 to 7 cm, and clients' fish size varied from 8 to 20 cm. The wrasses cleaned for 2 to 30 seconds, the flanks were the most explored area of the clients' bodies. The cleaning activity we described was rare and opportunistic. Therefore, it is unlikely that H. penrosei is a specialized cleaner.

A total of 52 specimens (45–115 mm carapace length) of Maja goltziana d'Oliveira 1888, was collected along the Lebanese coasts (south-eastern Mediterranean Sea) in 2006–2007. This species, till now considered rare in the Mediterranean Sea, is common and abundant along the deep shelf-upper Lebanese coast where a local population is present.

Several million Velella velella per km were stranded on two west coast beaches from the end of October to the beginning of November 2006, and high numbers along the entire west coast of New Zealand. A few Velella strand most years, but this appears to be the first mass stranding ever recorded. The greatest length of 124 floats averaged 26 mm, and 72% were left sailors.

A male specimen of Ammothella longioculata was found in Famagusta Bay (northern Cyprus) at 42 m in October 2003. It is illustrated and its distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is presented. This is the first record on Pycnogonida from the Cypriot coast. Ammothella longioculata is also recorded for the second time from the eastern Mediterranean.

The Indo-West Pacific snapping shrimp, Alpheus rapacida was recently collected in Kuşadası Bay, located on the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey, on 8 October 2005. It is the first record of the species along the Aegean coast of Turkey.

This study compared the frequency with which different parrotfish individuals—initial (IP) and terminal (TP)—of three species associate with cleaner and follower species at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. Only TP individuals posed at bottom-based cleaning stations. IP individuals were followed more often by the Noronha wrasse (Thalassoma noronhanum) than TP parrotfish. When following parrotfish, the Noronha wrasse capitalized upon drifting particles and occasionally cleaned them ‘on the move’ when they momentarily interrupted their feeding. Probably IP individuals were followed more often by the Noronha wrasse because they forage more often than the TP and thus make more drifting particles available to the wrasse. Since the IP individuals were cleaned by T. noronhanum while foraging, they visit cleaning stations less often than TP individuals.

A new marine gastrotrich species, Desmodasys abyssalis sp. nov. (Gastrotricha: Macrodasyida), is described from deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the East Pacific Rise based on light microscopy and scanning electron microscope observations. Desmodasys abyssalis was collected from artificial tubeworm aggregations exposed to the intermediate flow zone (medium productivity) and occurred in low abundance. Desmodasys abyssalis is the first record of a gastrotrich inhabiting a deep-sea hydrothermal vent habitat and is the first description of a deep-sea gastrotrich.

The coloration pattern of the estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis, does not display variations in its distribution and the colour grey, as its common name suggests, is predominant. On the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte a dolphin was sighted with atypical coloration in relation to animals from that region. After observing its morphological characteristics, it was verified that the animal was a white specimen of S. guianensis. Although photographic recordings were made, the reddish coloration of the eye cannot be confirmed, a characteristic that would identify the animal as an albino dolphin. Despite not being very frequent, cases of coloration anomalies such as albinism have been previously recorded in 20 species of cetaceans. However, there have been no cases recorded for the estuarine dolphin.

Beaked whales are not a commonly encountered species, but Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphiuscavirostris, is the most cosmopolitan. Nonetheless, little is known of its distribution in the north-eastern Indian Ocean, particularly along the coasts of India, Pakistan and Iran. Here we present the first confirmed record of the species for Pakistan from a stranded specimen that was found during a routine beach survey. None have been seen during inshore boat surveys to date. Considering the level of naval activity and seismic surveys in the waters off Pakistan, incorporation of mitigating measures and monitoring surveys are suggested to avoid potential beaked whale mortality. This is the first confirmed record of Z. cavirostris on the Pakistani coast and is an important finding for the Pakistan Biodiversity Action Plan and their National Conservation Strategy for marine mammals.

The list of marine alien fauna in Greek waters is updated taking into account new findings (published and unpublished data). According to the present work, the number of species increases from 102 to 110. Of the eight new records, five are zoobenthic species, two zooplanktonic and another one a teleost fish. Moreover, records referring to the expansion range of aliens from an established stand to new areas are also presented, pointing out the species that could be considered as possible invaders to local communities.

Whaling has been known in Portugal since the 12th Century. However, the significant commercial interest of this activity began in the 19th Century and carried on through the 20th Century on the mainland and on the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. The purpose of this study is to conduct a global review of Portuguese whaling data and to obtain information on coastal catches of whales by the Portuguese land-based fleet during the 20th Century. Different periods of whaling can be discriminated considering the three Portuguese geographical locations but, globally, 89 years of land-based whaling in Portugal gave a total capture of 29,180 great whales. Captures included sperm, fin, humpback, sei, right and minke whales. Decline of the land-based whaling industry followed the decline of species in the exploited grounds.

The finding of a male specimen of Achelia langi in Candarli Bay, Turkish Aegean Sea is reported. This is the first report of the species in the eastern Mediterranean. Some morphological features of the species are illustrated and its distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is shown in Figure 1.

The harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, is distributed throughout the continental shelf waters of the northern hemisphere. Although the species is known to occur in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara off the coast of Turkey, to date no porpoises have been reported along the Aegean Sea coast of this country. This paper provides the first reported stranding of the harbour porpoise on this coastline. This is however, not thought to provide evidence of a separate population, rather it is thought that it may be part of the Black Sea population. It may demonstrate a wider or possible re-distribution of its range than previously thought.

In a benthic study conducted in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey, in July 2007, the pandorid bivalve Pandora inaequivalvis was encountered at four stations having depths of 1.5–7.5 metres and muddy sand bottoms. This is the first record of this species for the Turkish part of the Levantine Sea.

Stomach contents of 845 wild-captured elasmobranchs (representing 21 species of more than 13 genera) from the Yaeyama area, southern Ryukyus, were examined for the elapid sea snakes. These specimens included 496 tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier, of which 343 had prey remains and 48 had sea snakes. Of the others, one of the 29 nurse sharks Nebrius concolor (including 23 with some items in stomachs) and the one smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena also had sea snakes, whereas the remainder, including 187 with some prey remains in stomachs, had no sea snakes. Six of the seven sea snake species hitherto recorded from the Yaeyama area, including Pelamis platura, for which very little is known about its predator, were found from the tiger shark stomachs.

We report the occurrence of a lone humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf inside Baía de Todos os Santos, north-eastern Brazil, encountered swimming near the shore at a busy beach of the city of Salvador. The calf was monitored for over six hours during which time it was photographed performing an unusual behaviour, interpreted by the authors as a sign of stress and disorientation. One week later, a dead humpback whale calf was found 14 km north-east, on the island of Itaparica. Due to the similar size and the oceanographic currents of the area, we considered it to be the same animal. Finally, we discuss considerations to improve conditions for the rescue of cetaceans in the future.

The first record for the asteroid Dytaster gilberti in the western Pacific is given.

Living populations of the meso- and supralittoral molluscs Siphonaria pectinata and Echinolittorina punctata are recorded for the Tunisian shores. Siphonaria is most likely to be newly established on this coast, being easily detected and scored as absent in the same sites during previous surveys. The case is unclear for Echinolittorina, for which we do not know any positive published records prior to 1970 but which may have been confused with Melarhaphe neritoides. Both species are of tropical West African affinities and are potentially excellent markers of faunal change in the Mediterranean Sea.