Articles

Seeing the invisible: Chriolepis lepidota (Gobiidae), literally as never seen before

For the first time, almost half a century after its discovery and description, the poorly known endemic gobiid fish Chriolepis lepidota was seen alive at Malpelo Island.

Authors: J. Tavera and S. Rojas-Vélez

Vagrancy in paradise: documentation of the chevron butterflyfish Chaetodon trifascialis in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaiian islands

The chevron butterflyfish Chaetodon trifascialis is an obligate corallivore found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. The typical northern extent of the distributional range of the chevron butterflyfish overlaps with th...

Authors: Erik C. Franklin

First record of Thysanozoon brocchii (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) from Indian waters

This work reports the occurrence of Thysanozoon brocchii from the rocky intertidal coast of Ratnagiri and Dwarka, the West Coast of India, for the first time. Two morphotypes were found, the first morph has a buf...

Authors: Reshma Pitale and Deepak Apte

First record of the megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, (family Megachasmidae) in the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean

A new record of Megachasma pelagios is here reported for the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean from Puerto Rico.

Authors: Grisel Rodriguez-Ferrer, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Michelle Schärer, Craig Lilyestrom, Jan P. Zegarra and Mahmood Shivji

Range extension of the sesarmid crab Clistocoeloma villosum along the eastern Pacific coast of the Izu Peninsula, Japan

The Pacific coastline along the southern Izu Peninsula, Japan, is strongly influenced by warm tropical waters of the Kuroshio Current. A new easternmost record of the near-threatened sesarmid crab Clistocoeloma v...

Authors: Takeshi Yuhara, Hiroyuki Yokooka and Masanori Taru

First record of Omura’s whale, Balaenoptera omurai, in Sri Lankan waters

An unusually coloured, small baleen whale was documented off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in February 2017 during routine field surveys. Based on five distinct morphological characteristics including jaw as...

Authors: Asha de Vos

The first authenticated record of Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata Gray 1874) in Mozambique; has it been previously overlooked?

The cetacean fauna of the poorly-studied waters off eastern Africa is still being described. Information on the cetacean species occurring in specific range states is important for understanding their geograph...

Authors: Gary A. Allport, Christopher Curtis, Tiago Pampulim Simões and Maria J. Rodrigues

First record of Syllis vittata (Polychaeta: Syllidae) in the Dutch North Sea

Syllis vittata is present from British Waters to the Mediterranean Sea, Morocco and the Canary Islands and recorded from the South African coast and Indian Ocean.

Authors: Inês Maia Dias, Martijn Spierings, Joop W. P. Coolen, Babeth Van Der Weide and Joël Cuperus

Trade of marine turtles along the Southwestern Coast of the Gulf of Venezuela

Marine turtles play an important role in the culture and economy of numerous coastal communities around the world. However, the legal framework that regulates the consumptive use of these reptiles varies among...

Authors: H. Barrios-Garrido, N. Espinoza-Rodríguez, D. Rojas-Cañizales, J. Palmar, N. Wildermann, M. G. Montiel-Villalobos and M. Hamann

Medusae and ctenophores from the Bahía Blanca Estuary and neighboring inner shelf (Southwest Atlantic Ocean, Argentina)

An updated checklist of medusae and ctenophores is presented for the first time for the area comprised by the Bahía Blanca Estuary, the adjacent shelf El Rincón and Monte Hermoso beach, o...

Authors: M. Sofía Dutto, Gabriel N. Genzano, Agustín Schiariti, Julieta Lecanda, Mónica S. Hoffmeyer and Paula D. Pratolongo

First record of an Adélie penguin at sub-Antarctic Marion island

The sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Archipelago (46°53’S, 37°52’E), consisting of Marion and Prince Edward islands, is situated in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, approximately 2 600 km away from the clos...

Authors: Tegan Carpenter-Kling, John Dickens and Pierre A. Pistorius

First record of Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre 1788) in Guatemala’s Caribbean Sea

This report represents the first record of the sharpnose sevengill shark Heptranchias perlo in Guatemala’s Caribbean Sea.

Authors: Ana Hacohen-Domené, Francisco Polanco-Vásquez and Rachel T. Graham

First record of genus Paramphitrite (Polychaeta: Terebellidae) in Mediterranean Sea

The presence of species belonging to genus Paramphitrite (Terebellidae) has been recorded in the Temperate Northern Atlantic and Arctic regions (Iberian Atlantic, Norwegian and Russian seas). This paper describes...

Authors: Marco Loia, Luisa Nicoletti and Barbara La Porta

First documentation of encrusting specimen of Cliona delitrix on Curaçao: a cause for concern?

The coral excavating sponge Cliona delitrix is one of the most aggressive and conspicuous excavating sponges on Caribbean reefs. While C. delitrix is very prominent displaying its typical encrusting growth form (

Authors: Benjamin Mueller

Distribution and species richness of caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Mexican Pacific

The caprellid fauna from different localities along the Mexican Pacific coast: Sinaloa (3), Nayarit (15), Jalisco (9) and Colima (1) are presented herein.

Authors: Lucy Coral Alarcón-Ortega, Amílcar Leví Cupul-Magaña, Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso and Fabio Germán Cupul-Magaña

Cryptobenthic fish as clients of french angelfish Pomacanthus paru (Pomacanthidae) during cleaning behaviour

The French angelfish Pomacanthus paru (Pomacanthidae) is recognised as an important cleaner in tropical reef environments, yet its clients remain relatively undescribed in the literature. Here, we report observat...

Authors: Cláudio L. S. Sampaio, Miguel Loiola, Liliana P. Colman, Diego V. Medeiros, Juan Pablo Quimbayo, Ricardo J. Miranda, José Amorim Reis-Filho and José de Anchieta C. C. Nunes

Ampelisca lusitanica (Crustacea: Amphipoda): new species for the Atlantic coast of Morocco

This study reports for the first time the presence of the Lusitanian ampeliscid amphipod Ampelisca lusitanica Bellan-Santini & Marques, 1986 in the northwestern Atlantic coast of Morocco.

Authors: Z. Belattmania, A. Chaouti, M. Machado, A. Engelen, E. A. Serrão, A. Reani and B. Sabour

Range extension of a vulnerable Sea horse Hippocampus fuscus (Actinopterygii: Syngnathidae) on the north-eastern Bay of Bengal coast

The study describes the range extension of the sea horse Hippocampus fuscus from the south to north east coastal waters of the India, Bay of Bengal. After 99 years since initial discovery, the Hippocampus fusc...

Authors: Debasish Mahapatro, R. K. Mishra and S. Panda

Nephroselmis viridis (Nephroselmidophyceae, Chlorophyta), a new record for the Atlantic Ocean based on molecular phylogeny and ultrastructure

Nephroselmis is composed by unicellular nanoplanktonic organisms, occurring predominantly in marine environments. Currently, 14 species are taxonomically accepted. Nephroselmis viridis wa...

Authors: Karoline Magalhães Ferreira Lubiana, Sônia Maria Flores Gianesella, Flávia Marisa Prado Saldanha-Corrêa and Mariana Cabral Oliveira

DNA barcoding of flat oyster species reveals the presence of Ostrea stentina Payraudeau, 1826 (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) in Japan

DNA barcoding is an effective method of accurately identifying morphologically similar oyster species. However, for some of Japan’s Ostrea species there are no molecular data in the international DNA databases.

Authors: Masami Hamaguchi, Miyuki Manabe, Naoto Kajihara, Hiromori Shimabukuro, Yuji Yamada and Eijiro Nishi

First recorded occurrence of Cheirocratus robustus Sars, 1894 in the British Isles

Collections of the amphipod genus Cheirocratus from the North Sea and Ireland proved to include C. robustus Sars a species previously known only from Norway and Sweden.

Authors: Alan A. Myers, David McGrath and Will Musk

First live records of the ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea, Syngnathidae)

Until recently, only two species of seadragon were known, Phycodurus eques (the leafy seadragon) and Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (the common seadragon), both from Australia. In 2015, we described a new species of se...

Authors: Greg W. Rouse, Josefin Stiller and Nerida G. Wilson

First record of the chimaera Neoharriota carri (Bullis and Carpenter 1966) in the Caribbean of Guatemala

A new record of Neoharriota carri is here reported for the Caribbean of Guatemala.

Authors: Francisco Polanco-Vásquez, Ana Hacohen-Domené, Thalya Méndez, Alerick Pacay and Rachel T. Graham

First report of the whitesaddled catshark Scyliorhinus hesperius (Springer 1966) in Guatemala’s Caribbean Sea

The present study represents the first record of Scyliorhinus hesperius in Guatemala’s Caribbean Sea.

Authors: Ana Hacohen-Domené, Francisco Polanco-Vásquez and Rachel T. Graham

A Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis from the River Clyde – the first record of this invasive, non-native species in Scotland

The remains (probably a moult) of a female Chinese mitten crab were found in the freshwater River Clyde. This is the first report of a Chinese mitten crab from the wild in Scotland and is well outside the prev...

Authors: William E. Yeomans and John Clark

Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Non-native marine species, including tropical eastern Atlantic fish species are on the increase in Malta, with shipping activities being the main vector for the movement of these alien species from the Atlanti...

Authors: Noel Vella, Adriana Vella and Sandra Agius Darmanin

First record of the Berber ponyfish Leiognathus berbis Valenciennes, 1835 (Osteichthyes: Leiognathidae) from Syrian marine waters (Eastern Mediterranean)

Climatic changes and human activities have worked to pave the way for alien species to invade new areas far from their native habitat. The Mediterranean sea has received many invasive species (Eissa and Zaki, ...

Authors: Firas Alshawy, Murhaf Lahlah and Chirine Hussein

Characteristics of a previously undescribed fishery and habitat for Manta alfredi in the Philippines

Seven species of mobulid rays occur in the Philippines, six of which, including the Giant Manta Ray (Manta birostris) are caught directly or indirectly. In the Bohol Sea, mobulids have been fished since at least ...

Authors: Jo Marie V. Acebes, Yotam Barr, Jacqueline Marjorie R. Pereda and Mudjekeewis D. Santos

Zonation patterns, composition and diversity of macroalgal communities in the eastern coasts of Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran

This study investigates the spatial and temporal variation of intertidal macroalgae along the eastern coasts of Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran. Monthly sampling of abundance, biomass, richness and diversity ...

Authors: Maryam Kokabi, Morteza Yousefzadi, Marzieh Razaghi and Mohamad Amin Feghhi

Morphological and functional abnormality in the spiny butterfly ray Gymnura altavela

A variety of abnormalities have been described for sharks, rays and skates across different ecoregions. Morphological and functional anomalies in these species, however, were not yet documented in distribution...

Authors: Krupskaya Narváez and Filip Osaer

First documented presence of Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) (ELASMOBRANCHII, CARCHARHINIDAE) in the Mediterranean basin (Libyan waters)

One male and one female specimen of tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822), were accidentally caught by a drifting longline for swordfish in the south Mediterranean (Libyan waters). This findin...

Authors: Ibrahim M. Tobuni, Ben-Abdallah R. Benabdallah, Fabrizio Serena and Esmail A. Shakman

First records of two Padina species (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) from the Syrian coast (eastern Mediterranean)

Padina ditristromatica and Padina boryana (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) are recorded for the first time from the Syrian coast (eastern Mediterranean). Padina ditristromatica has been previo...

Authors: H. Arraj, H. Mayhoob and A. Abbas

Tamoya haplonema (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) from Uruguayan and adjacent waters: oceanographic context of new and historical findings

New records of the cubozoan jellyfish Tamoya haplonema in Uruguayan waters are reported together with historical records for the region, and associated with the oceanographic conditions at the moment of the findi...

Authors: Valentina Leoni, Silvana González, Leonardo Ortega, Fabrizio Scarabino, Gabriela Failla Siquier, Alicia Dutra, Luis Rubio, Martin Abreu, Wilson Serra, Ana Gabriella Alonzo Campi, Sergio N. Stampar and André C. Morandini

Records of five bryozoan species from offshore gas platforms rare for the Dutch North Sea

This study reports on bryozoan species collected at three offshore gas platforms in the Dutch part of the North Sea. Four out of thirteen observed species are considered as rare in the Netherlands, whereas Cribri...

Authors: Esther D. Beukhof, Joop W. P. Coolen, Babeth E. van der Weide, Joël Cuperus, Hans de Blauwe and Jerry Lust

First North Pacific records of the pointy nosed blue chimaera, Hydrolagus cf. trolli (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae)

The occurrence of Hydrolagus cf. trolli is reported for the first time from the central and eastern North Pacific Ocean. This is a geographic range extension for this species, as it was previously only known to o...

Authors: Amber N. Reichert, Lonny Lundsten and David A. Ebert

New distributional records of three soldier fishes (Pisces: Holocentridae: Myripristis) from Indian waters

Three species of Myripristid fishes identified as Myripristis seychellensis, M. formosa and M. greenfieldi were collected from Indian waters. This adds to the already existing six species of soldierfishes Myripri...

Authors: Rekha J. Nair and S. Dineshkumar

Cetacean sightings, mixed-species assemblages and the easternmost record of Indopacetus pacificus from the northern Indian ocean

A visual survey of cetaceans was carried out during a voyage from Singapore to Sri Lanka, through the Straits of Malacca, Andaman Sea and across the Bay of Bengal in the northern Indian Ocean in November/Decem...

Authors: Anoukchika D. Ilangakoon and Abigail K. Alling

New record of Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1839) in an equatorial river system

Bull sharks are a cosmopolitan shark species frequently found in shallow shelf ocean waters and, occasionally, in several tropical river systems around the world. Due to bull shark’s capability to enter riveri...

Authors: Leonardo Manir Feitosa, Ana Paula Barbosa Martins and Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes

First record of the red alga Griffithsia capitata (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, Western Atlantic

The red algal species Griffithsia capitata (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta), native to the Canary Islands and Madeira, is reported for the first time from San Andres Island, International Biosphere Reserve Seaflower, Car...

Authors: M. Natalia Rincón-Díaz, Brigitte Gavio, Michael J. Wynne and Adriana Santos-Martínez

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in Tañon Strait, central Philippines

Previous sightings of bottlenose dolphins in Tañon Strait, central Philippines, in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s were limited to the southern section of the strait, in waters <500 m deep, and the species was...

Authors: Angelico Jose C. Tiongson and Leszek Karczmarski

First record of the coloured righteye flounder, Poecilopsetta colorata (Teleostei: Poecilopsettidae) from the Sakalaves seamounts in the Mozambique Channel

The coloured righteye flounder, Poecilopsetta colorata Günther, 1880 was previously known from the eastern Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and Indonesia. Here, a new record from the western Indian Ocean is re...

Authors: Wei-Jen Chen, Jhen-Nien Chen, Eve-Julie Pernet and Karine Olu

New records of four reef fish species for Hong Kong

A total of four reef fish species: Amblyeleotris japonica, Halichoeres hartzfeldii, Canthigaster papua and a Parapriacanthus species, are reported for the first time in Hong Kong.

Authors: Allen W. L. To and Stanley K. H. Shea

Colonization record of Isognomon bicolor (Mollusca: Bivalvia) on pipeline monobuoys in the Brazilian south coast

The introduction of alien species in a system affecting native species due to competition for food and space. The purse oyster Isognomon bicolor (Bivalvia, Pteriidae), a potential exotic invader, presents gaps in...

Authors: Vanessa Ochi Agostini and Carla Penna Ozorio

First record of Siganus randalli (Teleost, Siganidae) in New Caledonia, and comments on its diet

Most of the 29 Siganidae species are widely distributed through the Indo-Pacific area. In New Caledonia, these family was represented by 12 species. The present report is the first record of Siganus randalli in N...

Authors: Thibaud Moleana, Luc Della Patrona, Tarik Meziane and Yves Letourneur

Occurrence of azooxanthellate scleractinian corals off Goa, mid-west coast of India

West coast of India is characterized by the presence of rich rocky out-crops with a diversity of poorly illuminated vertical rocky walls, crevices, caves, tunnels and overhangs. Though these are the typical en...

Authors: Lazarus Singarayan and Chandran Rethnaraj

Four new records of stranded Kemp’s ridley turtle Lepidochelys kempii in the NW Iberian Peninsula

The critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) has a reduced distribution range concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico and only a few pelagic stage juveniles occasionally strand on European coas...

Authors: Pablo Covelo, Lidia Nicolau and Alfredo López

The first definitive record of the giant larvacean, Bathochordaeus charon, since its original description in 1900 and a range extension to the northeast Pacific Ocean

Larvaceans in the genus Bathochordaeus are large, often abundant filter feeders found throughout much of the world ocean. The first described species, Bathochordaeus charon, was reported over 100 years ago by Chu...

Authors: R. E. Sherlock, K. R. Walz and B. H. Robison

Erratum to: First record of the glass octopus Vitreledonella richardi (Cephalopoda: Vitreledonellidae) from the Arabian Sea

Authors: K. K. Sajikumar, V. Venkatesan, R. Jeyabaskaran, Abbas Muhammed and K. S. Mohamed

New extension range and complementary description of Eurytemora americana (Calanoida: Temoridae) in northern Korea

The brackish calanoid, Eurytemora americana Williams, 1906, is reported in the northern part of Korea. It is found to be an important copepod in the mesozooplankton community structure from the estuarine and shal...

Authors: Seong Yong Moon, Jung-Hwa Choi, Jung-Nyun Kim, Sun-Kil Kim and Balu Alagar Venmathi Maran

Species composition of extant coccolithophores including twenty six new records from the southwest Pacific near New Zealand

Coccolithophores are one of the major components of marine phytoplankton and also one of the most prominent members of haptophyte algae. Studies of the extant coccolithophores started more than half a century ...

Authors: F. Hoe Chang and Lisa Northcote