This paper reports on parasitism in the marine fish Atlantic bumper Chloroscombrus chrysurus (Osteichthyes: Carangidae) by the cymothoid isopod Cymothoa spinipalpa as well as information pertaining to biological aspects. The fish samples were netted in the coastal waters of the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and examined on a monthly basis from January to December 2006. A total of 30 adults of C. spinipalpa were found in 26 of the 204 Atlantic bumpers sampled. A prevalence of 12.8% and mean intensity of 1.15 parasites per fish were registered. The isopods were found in the branchial chamber and buccal cavity of the host. However, the parasitized and non-parasitized fish did not show any significant differences in their mean body mass, body length and condition factor. A positive correlation was found between the total length of female isopods and total body length of the hosts. The parasitic isopod females were larger than the males. Occurrence of males in the branchial chamber and the buccal cavity did not show any significant differences statistically, whereas the females showed a preference for the buccal cavity.

A juvenile female Commerson's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) was found dead stranded 15 km north of Necochea (38°38′S 058°53′W), Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, approximately 470 km north of the normal range for this species. The animal appeared to be emaciated and granular nodules were found throughout both lungs, but the cause of death is unknown. Analyses of mtDNA sequences suggest the individual could have been a vagrant from any of the populations studied south of the stranding location.

The first mass stranding of Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus on the Peruvian coast occurred on Pozo de Lizas Beach (17°42′30.3″S 71°18′48.7″W), port of Ilo, Department of Moquegua, southern Peru, between 7 and 8 June 2007. At least 14 Risso's dolphins were stranded along 1.5 km of beach. Just 7 of them could be sized and 8 sexed; this group was composed of 7 males and a single female plus a juvenile of undetermined sex. Mean standard body length of the males was 299.67 cm (SD: 9.91 cm, range: 292–317 cm) and the female measured 289 cm. The entire group, including four individuals found alive, was illegally butchered by the local people to use the meat as food, while other remains were used as bait in the pelagic long-line fishery. This record fills a distributional gap of about 1000 km in the known distribution of the species between central Peru and northern Chile. Additional education is required for improved conservation strategies in future cetacean strandings.

The presence of herbivorous fish of the family Kyphosidae in the Mediterranean has increased with the first record of the species Kyphosus incisor which occurred in July 2009 at Camogli, eastern Ligurian Riviera.

The amphipod Metopa alderii is for the first time reported to live in symbiosis with the bivalves Musculus discors and M. niger in northern Spitzbergen. Metopa alderii has previously only been reported as free-living, and never before this far north.

The occurrence of the scyphozoan Cassiopea andromeda is reported from the Maltese Islands, where a sizable aggregation was found in Marsamxett Harbour. This is the first record of this circumtropical species from the central Mediterranean Sea, hitherto known from the Levantine and Aegean basins. It is suggested that the most likely vector responsible for transporting this species to the Maltese Islands is shipping.

This paper reports the first record of Acanthopleura vaillantii from the northern Oman Sea, Iranian coast. The specimens were collected from the intertidal zone of Chabahar Bay in June 2009. The gross morphological characters, including features of the valves and girdle armature, are described.

The present contribution reports for the first time the sessile barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis as an epizoic of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba in the oligotrophic waters of north-eastern Brazil. One barnacle specimen was found on a dead cetacean in Ceará State, north-eastern Brazil. Diagnosis and figures of the barnacle are provided and the relationship between the epizoic and the host discussed.

The string eel Gordiichthys leibyi is reported for the first time from the western South Atlantic, based on a specimen taken from the stomach of a yellowtail snapper collected off the coast of Mucuri, Bahia, Brazil.

The lessepsian species, Upeneus pori (Pisces), Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Cephalopoda) and Aquilonastra burtoni (Echinodermata) are reported for the first time from Cyprus, while the lessepsian bivalve, Barbatia plicata is reported for the first time from Kastelorizo Island, Greece. Finally, the fish species Pempheris vanicolensis, Sphyraena pinguis and Hemirampus far were collected more northerly than their previous records in the Aegean Sea. The geographical distribution of these species is given. According to the new records, the number of lessepsian fish, mollusc and echinoderm species known from Cyprus increases to 25, 38 and 4 species respectively.

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a small cetacean that can be found worldwide in offshore tropical and warm temperate waters. Most information about F. attenuata has been attributed to stranded or accidentally caught specimens and rarely through observation of free-ranging individuals. There is very little information about this cetacean in South Atlantic waters. In Brazil, only two confirmed strandings and four sightings have been published up to date. In this study we present the third confirmed stranding of the pygmy killer whale on the Brazilian coast. The current and previous records of Brazilian specimens suggest that F. attenuata may eventually use the continental shelf to feed and rest, principally in some areas of the Brazilian waters where this oceanographic feature is narrow.

Certain starfish have a restricted autotomy region at the base of each arm, at which the whole arm is detached if damaged or trapped. These species are common prey items of gulls, which have been observed to break-up starfish by gripping one arm and shaking the whole animal. This raises the possibility that shaking invokes the autotomy response, thereby accelerating consumption of prey and reducing the opportunity for prey to be stolen. To evaluate the role of autotomy in this interaction, specimens of Asterias rubens were shaken manually and the timing and pattern of breakage recorded. It was found that arm detachment was usually mediated by autotomy, although this depended on the way in which animals were shaken, and that autotomy did not effect detachment more rapidly than breakage outwith the autotomy region.

The record of several individuals of the African hind Cephalopholis taeniops from Lampedusa Island (Italy) is here reported, with discussion on the biogeographical importance of the Sicily channel as a crossroad for exotic fish of Atlantic and Indo-pacific origin.

Three killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings were recorded during the twelve month period from March 2008 to February 2009 in the northern Indian Ocean waters around Sri Lanka. This included the first sighting of this species during a dedicated cetacean survey. In the past three decades, several dedicated cetacean surveys have revealed high species richness around Sri Lanka, but no killer whale sightings were recorded. Records thus far have been limited to two, very old, unconfirmed sightings and a few specimens in the fisheries bycatch. Due to this paucity of records despite dedicated surveys, the species has been considered to be rare in these waters. It is of interest however, that three sightings were reported during a short time span of one year, when no sightings had been reported previously despite numerous dedicated cetacean surveys and opportunistic observations of cetaceans in these waters.

Thirteen macromollusca species are reported in Gizzeria harbour (Catanzaro, Italy). Among them two alien species, Cerithium scabridum and Musculista senhousia, deserve attention. The probable causes for their arrival and possible survival in the area are discussed, as is their impact on local fauna. In absence of recent reviews, a map regarding the known Italian sites of the latter is given. In the light of this last finding it is possible to speculate that its distribution could be strongly underestimated.

In the first seven months of 2008, eighteen Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), four Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens), five unidentified beaked whales and twenty-nine long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) were reported stranded in the UK and Ireland. Decomposition of those animals investigated puts the predicted time of death at mid-January. Concerns that an unusual mortality event had taken place prompted further investigations. Most carcasses were too decomposed for necropsy. A summary of findings is presented here. Although the initial stranding of five Cuvier's beaked whales in Scotland shared some similarities with atypical mass stranding events linked in time and space to mid-frequency naval sonars, there were two important differences with the remaining strandings during this period. First, the geographical range of the event was very wide and second, the strandings occurred over a prolonged period of several months. Both of these factors could be related to the fact that the mortalities occurred offshore and the carcasses drifted ashore. The cause(s) of this high number of strandings of mixed offshore cetacean species during this period remain undetermined.

In May–June 2009, thirteen adult individuals of the round stingray Urobatis halleri, with total lengths between 264 and 353 mm, were captured using various fishing gear at La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The specimens were notable for the presence of ocular malformations, and uniform dark mucus that completely covered the dorsal surface and some portions of the ventral region. These malformations may be a result of one or several factors, including parasitic infection, tumours, or water pollution.

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) is a huge marine predator that has a widely circumpolar distribution and breeding sites near the subantarctic convergence. Nevertheless, this seal has been found in several locations far from their breeding grounds. In Brazilian waters this species has been occasionally recorded. The aim of this paper is to review the occurrence of this species along the Brazilian coast, adding new records in the territory. From 1954 to 2008 we compiled 46 records of M. leonina distributed in eight Brazilian coastal states. We present eight non-published records which represent 17.4% of all the records for the Brazilian coast. From 32 sexed seals, 81.2% were males and 61.3% of the specimens were immature. Most records occurred during autumn (N = 15) and winter (N = 18) seasons. Unexpectedly, the records did not show a clear pattern of decrease from high to low latitudinal coastal Brazilian states. The nectonic pattern of M. leonina with the lack of physical barriers and currents moving northwards could be the reason for the dispersion of this seal to different areas along South American coast.

The stomach contents of two Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded along the eastern Adriatic coast were examined. One was a male stranded in 2004 and the other was a newborn stranded in 2008. Milk was found in the newborn's stomach. The prey of the male was only cephalopods belonging mainly to the Teuthoidea. Five families and seven species were identified. Octopoteuthis sicula represented about 50% of estimated prey weight and Chiroteuthis veranyi was the most frequent species (estimated from the quantity of lower beaks). Three species are not listed in the Adriatic fauna, while the other species are found in middle and lower slope cephalopod assemblages in the southern Adriatic Sea.

Genetic diversity of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, nesting on the Kuriat Islands, the most important Tunisian nesting beach (central Mediterranean), was investigated using both nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Allozyme electrophoresis of 63 hatchlings from four different clutches showed a low genetic diversity. The genotypic composition of two clutches did not match Mendelian expectations suggesting the occurrence of multiple paternity. The analysis of 380 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region revealed no genetic variability. Only one haplotype was described in our sample (N = 16), which corresponds to the sequence of the most common haplotype found on the Mediterranean nesting beaches (CC-A2). The low genetic diversity detected by both mitochondrial and allozyme markers is discussed taking into account available data about past and present situations of loggerhead nesting activity in this site. Adequate conservation measures should be urgently taken to protect the nesting population in this area.