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 sites in southern Portugal that had previously been surveyed in 1998 for the presence of the non-indigenous barnacle Austrominius modestus, were re-examined in March/April 2011 and 2012. Austrominius had increased in abundance at the site where it had previously been found, from being occasional to frequent. At the second site this species had been absent when surveyed in 1998 and in 2011, but a few individuals were found in 2012. At a third site, which was examined in April 2013 only, the species was found to be occasional. It would be worth examining more sites further along the southern Algarve coast, as well as in the Mediterranean, to establish whether this species has spread to other new locations.

Ovigerous females of Uca (Cranuca) inversa were collected from Avicennia marina mangroves near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Laboratory-hatched first zoeal stages were described and illustrated for the first time. Morphological comparison of the larval structures was made with known larvae of congeneric species. Larval features of Ocypodinae were evaluated taking into account all previous larval descriptions of this subfamily. The short dorsal spine of zoea-I is proposed as the main feature for the identification of the larva of this species.

An inventory has been made of the decapod fauna of the Glorieuses Islands, western Indian Ocean (WIO), following the BIORECIE 2 Expedition to the Islands, 5–17 December 2012. Field data are complemented by a review of taxonomic studies for these islands. Overall 157 species are now reported from the Glorieuses Islands, including 61 new records. The presence of the coconut crab, Birgus latro, is confirmed from these islands, for the first time since 1884, and the WIO distribution of this endangered species is updated, based on observations made in the region since 2006.

One individual of the Pacific grenadier, Coryphaenoides acrolepis, was recorded for the first time in the South Atlantic (54°00′S 56°52′W–53°57′S 56°44′W, depth range 1540–1860 m). The species is endemic to the North Pacific, and its appearance off the Falkland Islands, as with some other endemic North Pacific species found there recently, might be possibly explained by changes in water circulation in deep seas. During the last decade deep waters around the islands have become less saline and warmer, which is in agreement with respective changes in water masses in Antarctica.

The occurrence of the tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Hydrocharitaceae) is recorded for the first time on the Caribbean coast of Martinique (French West Indies, Caribbean Sea). Specimens were observed, since a large survey in 2006, on sandy substrates between 3 m and 32 m depths in this area. The species was found in mono-specific patches or mixed with other macrophytes as Syringodium filiforme (seagrass) and/or Ulva intestinalis (green alga). Halophila stipulacea was previously identified on the coasts of Dominica and St Lucia, two islands nearby our study area. While its presence was presumed to be in Martinique, it was never officially recorded. These findings off the coast of Martinique further define the distribution and widespread occurrence of this alien species within the Caribbean Sea.

The first record of an adult male of French angelfish Pomacanthus paru (total length = 295 mm; total weight = 855.3 g) in the coastal waters of Rio de la Plata mouth, Argentina is here reported. This finding extends the known limit to about 1200 km from the previous reported southernmost distribution of this tropical fish.

Saron marmoratus, a colourful Indo-Pacific ‘marble shrimp’, is newly recorded in the Mediterranean Sea from specimens recently photographed along the Israeli coastline. The colour pattern of the species is described and illustrated. It is the second Indo-Pacific hippolytid species recorded in the Mediterranean.

A video clip from the Galápagos Archipelago confirms the first recording of the smalltooth sandtiger shark, Odontaspis ferox, in these islands. Further sightings of this species in the eastern Pacific will likely follow, considering that other, relatively nearby islands lay within reach of the Equatorial Counter Current and North Equatorial Current, which connect some already reported sightings.

Aequorea pensilis was recorded for the first time in massive quantities on 17 August 2013 at Damb, Sonmiani; however, only a few stranded specimens were collected from Clifton on 2 December 2012. Both these localities are on the Pakistan coast. These findings suggest that, A. pensilis has been established in this region. This report also provides the first record of A. pensilis from Pakistan and is the first report of a hydroidomedusa from the region. This species is distributed in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Numerous specimens of Ophistognathus panamaensis were observed along the coast of Oaxaca in western Mexico and one specimen was collected by Hawaiian sling in the coral reef zones of Huatulco, Mexico in November 2012. Therefore, this paper reports for the first time the occurrence of O. panamaensis in Mexico and extends its previous distribution by 1245 km north of the Eastern Pacific equatorial zone.

Globigerinoides ruber is a common planktonic foraminifera often used in palaeoceanographic studies. There exist two chromotypes of the species (pink and white). At present, the white chromotype is cosmopolitan in distribution, while the pink chromotype is geographically restricted to the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas (locally extinct from the Indo-Pacific region since 0.12 million years ago). We have documented for the first time the presence of the pink chromotype of G. ruber from the north-western Bay of Bengal (Rushikulya, Orissa coast of India) and we emphasize the occurrence of both the chromotypes of G. ruber in this part of the Indian Ocean.

The solitary ascidian Herdmania momus, an Indo-Pacific species that has been introduced into the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal during the past century, has so far been restricted to the Levantine region. Here we record H. momus from the Maltese Islands, which represents a considerable westwards expansion of the species' distribution range in the Mediterranean. Possible modes of introduction are discussed, with translocation of adults via shipping and subsequent spawning at destination sites deemed a plausible mechanism.

The presence of the moray eel Enchelycore anatina is reported for the first time in the shallow coastal waters south of Koroni (south-western Greece). The occurrence of the moray bridges the gap in the findings of morays from Elafonisos Island to the east and the Apulian coast to the north-west. The eastward expansion in the range of this Atlantic species is discussed in relation to Mediterranean current patterns.

A total of ten coral species are reported from the Capo Rizzuto (Calabria) Marine Protected Area on the Ionian coast of Italy. Two species, Polycyathus muellerae and Paracyathus pulchellus, are new records for the Ionian Sea, a finding that expands their current known distribution range. Eight species are new records for the Ionian coast of Italy. Another species, Astroides calycularis, was identified from a photograph taken in the area, but its presence was not confirmed in the field. The solitary zooxanthellate coral Balanophyllia europaea was found associated with the yellow encrusting coralline alga, Lithophyllum pustulatum, which represents a novel observation requiring further investigation.

Ophiuroidea represents the dominant invertebrate group in Patagonian scallop fishery by-catch in the south-western Atlantic. This study presents information that brings forward the spatial patterns and abundance of the most abundant species in the benthic community associated with this fishery at the shelf-break front in the Argentine Sea, between 37° and 44°S during the period 2002–2005. Ophiactis asperula, Ophiacantha vivipara, Ophiura (Ophiuroglypha) lymani and Gorgonocephalus chilensis show a latitudinal and bathymetric distribution pattern, explained by their natural distributional ranges and feeding habits. Our results indicate that the abundance and distribution of these species are not related to scallop fishing activities.

The spiny basket star Astrocaneum spinosum is an ophiuroid found in coastal waters of the tropical eastern Pacific. This paper presents a new record of this species from off the coast of Ecuador and an extension of its distribution range of some 1200 km to the south.

We present a species checklist, characterizing the ichthyofaunal composition of four coastal archipelagos in waters off the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were obtained from ~120 h of underwater observations, published and unpublished information, including new species records. A total of 197 fish species (78 new records), belonging to 130 genera and 61 families, were observed. The family Carangidae (17) dominated in number of species, followed by Labridae and Serranidae (10 each), Epinephelidae and Scaridae (9 each). Most species are distributed along the tropical western Atlantic (51.8%) or on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (20.5%). A minor part is endemic to Brazil (9.7%) or range to temperate rocky reefs of Patagonia (6.7%). Fourteen species are threatened, according to the IUCN, and listed under the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment red list (6.6%). Despite an increment of fish species listed herein, and the recent establishment/creation of a Marine Protected Area (Monumento Natural das Ilhas Cagarras—MoNa Cagarras), research efforts are clearly needed along these archipelagos, as nearshore environmental threats increase due to lack of regulatory practices.