The macrofauna of marine invertebrates of two photophilic algal communities on the Maresme coast (Barcelona, NE Spain) were studied. We evaluated how the type of algal substrate (soft or hard thallus algae) affects the distribution patterns of organisms living in them. Quantitative samples were collected in the months of October 2013 and February 2014 at 15-m depth by scraping standard surfaces of

A new Antarctic fish leech with unique external appearance is described and assigned to the bipolar genus Pterobdellina Bennike & Bruun, 1939. The systematic rank of the latter is elevated from a subgenus of the genus Pterobdella Kaburaki, 1921 to a separate generic level. Pterobdellina vernadskyi sp. nov. bears both marginal fin-like structures and prominent dorsal zigzag folds with an unclear function

The present work resolved the long-standing taxonomic problem associated with the enigmatic ?Mastigoteuthis B Clarke, 1980, by demonstrating that these lower beaks correspond to those of the large deep-sea chiroteuthid Asperoteuthis acanthoderma (Lu, 1977). A review of the existing literature listed 22 specimens of A. acanthoderma, but synonymizing ?Mastigoteuthis B with A. acanthoderma increased 14

The subtropical region of the Southeast Pacific exhibits a strong onshore-offshore gradient in hydrographic conditions and biological production from the eutrophic upwelling zone to the ultra-oligotrophic oceanic area in the central South Pacific gyre (SPG). Across this gradient, zooplankton must cope with either gradual or abrupt changes in environmental conditions. Here, the distribution and diversity

The small size (< 5 mm) of marine microfilamentous green algae makes it difficult to identify based on field collections, remaining largely unnoticed. To catalogue the diversity of these diminutive marine algae, a combination of culture-based taxonomic studies and DNA barcoding has proven to be a successful approach. During subtidal surveys in the northeastern Brazil, microfilamentous green algae were

Sexual reproduction of corals is one of the most important processes for the persistence of coral populations. The Coral Triangle is recognised as a global hotspot of marine biodiversity, harbouring 75% of the world coral species. However, coral reproductive studies remain underrepresented in many reefs in the Coral Triangle. This study reports the coral spawning and spawn slicks occurrences from 2012

A new species of deep-sea neolepadid stalked barnacle, Vulcanolepas verenae sp. nov., is described from Hafa Adai hydrothermal vent field in the Mariana back-arc basin, northwest Pacific. Vulcanolepas verenae sp. nov. is differentiated from other described species in the family morphologically by a mandible with a very small first tooth and small, non-protruding peduncular scales. Its gross external morphology

Octocorals (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) are distributed worldwide and their taxonomy in the Persian Gulf has been a subject of controversy among experts due to their cryptic features. Here, we present a primary review of the Alcyonacea in the Iranian Persian Gulf with molecular documentation to provide insight into the real diversity within this order. Our molecular study was based on two mitochondrial

Two new species of deep-sea sponges from the Weddell Sea are described. Both are new to science: a carnivorous Demospongiae species Abyssocladia antarctica sp. nov. and a Hexactinellida species Caulophacus leonieae sp. nov., the latter characterized by a new type of microscleres. Both were sampled at the former Larsen Ice Shelf region, Antarctic Peninsula, that was covered by ice until recent breakup

The Critically Endangered shorttail nurse shark Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum (Günther, 1866) is a small-bodied Orectolobiform shark found only in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). We report here on a significant range extension for P. brevicaudatum based on four records of the species in southern Mozambique, recorded during research surveys, including a specimen collected in 1967 and video surveys

DNA-based analyses have become powerful tools for characterizing the metazoan biodiversity of diverse marine ecosystems. Metabarcoding (i.e., large-scale taxonomic identification of complex samples via high-throughput sequencing of a DNA barcode region) frequently uses hypervariable regions of the nuclear eukaryotic 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. However, species-level taxonomic identification is hampered

Globally, marine sandy beaches face increasing anthropogenic pressures. Long-term maintenance of their functional capacities depends strongly on robust autochthonous biotic community baseline data. However, fine-scale temporal patterns remain poorly understood in human-impacted sites, limiting our knowledge of beach response to stressors. Marine arenicolous fungi represent a neglected group of endopsamon

Goodingia is a crinoid-parasitic genus of the gastropod family Eulimidae, consisting of two named members: G. varicosa (Schepman, 1909) (type species) and G. capillastericola (Minichev, 1970). Due to their rarity, these species have been scarcely compared with each other. In this study, we assessed the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of Goodingia plus an undescribed eulimid species, whose

Shallow water reef fishes of Guerrero and Oaxaca (Mexico) were studied through visual censuses as part of exhaustive biological inventories conducted from 2004 to 2019. The systematic checklist comprises 183 species from 55 families. The most representative families were Serranidae (14 species), Carangidae (13), Muraenidae, and Labridae (11 each). The highest representativeness at the zone level was

Ichthyoplankton communities from Saint John Harbour and Passamaquoddy Bay on the New Brunswick shore of the Bay of Fundy, Canada, were sampled seasonally between 2011 and 2014. Saint John Harbour is an industrialised port whereas Passamaquoddy Bay is less developed, with a focus on aquaculture. In total, 32 species of fish eggs and larvae were recorded: 26 species in Saint John Harbour and 25 in Passamaquoddy

Uncertainty surrounding the number and identity of species of genus Limacia O.F. Müller, 1781, in southern African and European coastal waters presents an ongoing conundrum. Limacia clavigera (O.F. Müller, 1776) was previously thought to be the only species of its genus in the eastern Atlantic, with a distribution covering north- to south-eastern Atlantic waters. In the light of more recent molecular

A new nematode species, Latronema dyngi sp. nov., is described from Skagerrak off the west coast of Sweden with the type locality near Dyngö island. Latronema dyngi sp. nov. is characterized by multispiral amphideal fovea with circular outline, 0.2–0.3 corresponding body diameters wide in males and 0.1–0.2 corresponding body diameters wide in females, 12 cuticular longitudinal ridges and 18–27 precloacal

The Asian Pacific spionid polychaete worm Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata (Okuda, 1937) has been repeatedly reported from the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Our recent molecular study showed that the Pacific and the Arabian populations of these worms are not conspecific. Here we describe adult, gamete, and larval morphology of worms from the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait, as the new species Pseudopolydora

Environmental variability often results in morphological plasticity, allowing organisms to acclimate and resist changing environmental conditions. Corals exhibit high morphological variability, possibly influenced by factors such as phenotypic plasticity and hybridization. Pseudodiploria Fukami, Budd & Knowlton, 2012 consists of two species, Pseudodiploria strigosa Dana, 1846 and Pseudodiploria clivosa

Chemosynthetic ecosystems have long been acknowledged as key areas of enrichment for deep-sea life, supporting hundreds of endemic species. Echinoderms are among the most common taxa inhabiting the periphery of chemosynthetic environments, and of these, chiridotid holothurians are often the most frequently observed. Yet, published records of chiridotids in these habitats are often noted only as supplemental

The presence of non-indigenous species outside their home range attracts growing attention by the scientific community, as well as policy makers and common citizens. However, dispersal pathways of most non-indigenous species remain poorly understood. The association between non-indigenous and indigenous species may facilitate dispersal in non-native habitats. Identifying such associations is therefore

Deep-sea cephalopods are important in the bathyal ecosystems in terms of both abundance and diversity, but are seriously understudied. One of the most intriguing groups among the deep-sea cephalopods are Cirrata, relatively primitive octopods. Opisthoteuthis is the largest genus among the Cirrata. The least studied species of Opisthoteuthis in the Atlantic, Opisthoteuthis borealis Collins, 2005 was

Sea pen species of the genus Calibelemnon are important components of soft bottom communities. Here, we formally describe Calibelemnon hinoenma sp. nov. from shallow waters in Amami Oshima, Kagoshima in the Ryukyu Islands, via molecular and morphological observations and analyses. This species can be distinguished from its congeners by the presence of paired autozooids, siphonozooids aligned irregularly

Stolephorus acinaces sp. nov. is described from 14 specimens from the northern coast of Borneo, Malaysia. The new species is closely related to Stolephorus andhraensis Babu Rao, 1966, which is redescribed, both species having a long upper jaw with the posterior tip beyond the posterior margin of the preopercle, no predorsal scutes, the posterior preopercular margin indented and concave, the posterior

In the Mediterranean Sea, the symbiosis between the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and the polychaete Haplosyllis chamaeleon Laubier, 1960 (Annelida, Syllidae, Syllinae) has only been documented from the western basin. Our findings extend its geographic distribution to the north-central basin and represent the first record of H. chamaeleon in Italy and Croatia. Periodic observations from

In this paper, we describe Wataloricus japonicus gen. et sp. nov. (phylum Loricifera), based on specimens collected during surveys of Japanese waters in the Northwest Pacific conducted onboard the TR/Vs TOYOSHIO MARU and SEISUI MARU. This new loriciferan is placed in the family Pliciloricidae based on the morphology of the adult lorica and Higgins larval internal armature, setae, and toes. It is readily

Having a noncoiled, limpet-like shell is a characteristic shared by numerous gastropod molluscs, including many lineages outside the true limpets (Patellogastropoda) where it has evolved convergently. The shell shape of limpet-formed gastropods has often been used as a key taxonomic character, and although studies have shown that it can vary depending on the substrate morphology, these have mostly

Chella Bank (also known as Seco de los Olivos seamount) is a volcanic submarine elevation (76–700 m deep) located ca. 16 km off the southern coast of Spain, within the Alboran Sea, in the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition zone. It represents a biodiversity hotspot for Europe, with more than 600 species listed to date, and contains several habitats included in the EU Habitats Directive. During three

Invasive species have large economic and ecological impacts and are the leading driver of extinction for both plants and animals worldwide. In the USA, coral reefs, which provide $3.4 billion per year in ecosystem services, are impacted by invasive marine species. One such species is Tubastraea coccinea, which was the first scleractinia to invade the western Atlantic and recently has spread to natural

During the last few decades, several studies relating to coral reef fishes in Vietnam have been conducted and published for individual coral reefs along the coast and offshore islands. However, no attempts have been made to compile a list of all known reef fish species from the area or to examine patterns of reef fish biodiversity across Vietnam. To address this issue, we assembled a comprehensive

A new member of the harpacticoid copepod family Tachidiidae Boeck, 1865 was found in sediment samples of meiobenthic harpacticoids taken during a study on the diversity of meiobenthic harpacticoids along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. The taxonomic analysis of this material revealed that it contained an undescribed species. A new genus is herein proposed to accommodate the new species. The

This review presents an innovative approach to investigate the teuthofauna from the Southern Ocean by combining two complementary data sets, the literature on cephalopod taxonomy and biogeography, together with predator dietary investigations. Sixty squids were recorded south of the Subtropical Front, including one circumpolar Antarctic (Psychroteuthis glacialis Thiele, 1920), 13 circumpolar Southern

The subtropical coastal waters of Brazil have been surveyed regarding their hydroid fauna since 1941. However, a comprehensive compilation of all hydroid records with detailed information has not yet been published for these waters. Besides filling this knowledge gap, we provide an updated species list, along with the biogeographic status (native, introduced, or cryptogenic) of each hydroid species

A new genus of scleriteless gorgonian, Huziogorgia gen. nov., is proposed based on the morphological and molecular study of a set of colonies identified as the recently described species Trichogorgia utinomii Cordeiro, 2019. Huziogorgia utinomii comb. nov. has planar colonies, lyrate to dichotomous, with long and flexible terminal branches. The polyps are no retractile, always extended, slightly trumpet-shaped

Decades of coastal urbanisation have replaced many natural shorelines with seawalls. Marine communities have been documented on these replacement habitats, but little is known about the effects of seawall inclination on the diversity and depth distribution of sessile organisms on this artificial substrate. Surveys of hard coral and other sessile communities in Singapore indicated that benthic communities

The Kelee shad (Hilsa kelee) is currently considered as the only representative species in the genus Hilsa (Clupeidae, Clupeiformes) with a wide distribution in almost all coasts of the Indian Ocean. Two marginal marine water bodies of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, are important fisheries areas for this fish. In this study, a comparison of genetic diversity of Kelee shad

Stereo baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) are widely used to document diversity, abundance, and biomass of marine wildlife and record unusual behaviours. We observed a cuttlefish appearing to mimic decapod morphology and locomotion during a non-targeted BRUVS study on Australia’s Northwest Shelf. While the pharaoh cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis (Ehrenberg, 1831) is putatively thought to mimic

Scleractinian reef-building corals can lose their endosymbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagelates (Symbiodiniaceae) and bleach in response to drastic changes in environmental conditions, such as extreme temperature fluctuations and burial events. As bleaching episodes are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide, post-bleaching recovery is critical for coral resilience. We report an in situ experiment

Members of the order Comatulida (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) are widely distributed on Indo-Pacific reefs, where they host a highly diverse and understudied cryptofauna, which makes them a potential source of hidden biodiversity. In this study, shallow-water crinoid populations and their symbiotic communities from the Bangka Archipelago (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) were investigated. Presence and diversity

This study is about seven individuals of Botrucnidifer norvegicus Carlgren, 1912 (Anthozoa, Ceriantharia) that were attached to a stony deep-sea coral, Desmophyllum pertusum Linnaeus, 1758 (Anthozoa, Scleractinia). They were collected during surveys at Agdenes, Trondheimsfjord. We included photographs of live specimens, discussed the implications of this association, and described the species interaction

We examined small-scale distribution and feeding ecology of a non-native fish species, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)), in different habitats of a coastal lagoon situated in the south-western Baltic Sea. First observations of round goby in this lagoon were reported in 2011, 3 years before the current study was conducted, and information on this species’ basic ecology in different

Although well known for their epibiotic relationship with many living substrates, records of bryozoans settling on echinoderms are uncommon. In the few recorded cases, most basibionts (hosts) are cidaroid sea urchins, and their primary spines seems to be the preferred place for bryozoa settlement. Here, an unprecedented epibiosis between a bryozoan and a non-cidaroid sea urchin is reported, in which

Scyphozoans display a high level of developmental plasticity, including asexual reproductive strategies in their polyps. Irrespective of the alternating medusa-polyp life cycle, life stages or even complete generations can be omitted, occasionally or consistently, in some species. For example, ephyrae can be produced directly by planulae, leaving out the polyp generation, and polyps can produce free-swimming

The North Pacific nudibranch species Triopha catalinae (Cooper, 1863), also known as the clown nudibranch, includes two distinct morphotypes: the trans-Pacific morphotype, known from South Korea to Southern California, and the eastern Pacific-only morphotype from Southeast Alaska to Baja California. We tested the hypothesis that Triopha catalinae is a species complex by applying an integrative taxonomic

A new species of Lecithostaphylus Odhner, 1911 (Zoogonidae) is described from the Pacific agujon needlefish, Tylosurus pacificus (Steindachner) (Belonidae), from two localities off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Morphologically, the new species agrees with the diagnosis of the genus Lecithostaphylus. Lecithostaphylus brayi sp. nov. differs from other congeneric species by a combination of morphological

Climate change is increasing the frequency, magnitude, and socio-economic costs of unprecedented extreme weather events and disasters. An exceptional stranding event of benthic species, mainly represented by the ecosystem engineer Porifera (Demospongiae) Geodia cydonium (Linnaeus, 1767) was observed in the Gulf of Oristano (Sardinia, Italy, Western Mediterranean) in 2018 after an extreme meteorological

This article reports for the first time on an azooxanthellate brachycnemic zoantharian, Sphenopus marsupialis (Gmelin, 1791) from lower mesophotic depths (114 m depth).

In this paper, we explore spatial patterns of shallow-water sea anemones in the Southwest Atlantic (SWA). The following hypotheses were tested: (1) the distribution of sea anemones (Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia) corroborates SWA biogeographic provinces, (2) their distribution presents a richness peak at mid-latitudes, and (3) temperature is the main abiotic driver that structures their species composition

Marine species can act as biogenic sources of habitat structures, increasing the web of interactions between reef fishes and the benthic environment. Among these species, sea urchins seem to play an ecological role that goes beyond the dynamics of coral-algal interaction on reef ecosystems. In this paper, we describe the commensal behavior of juveniles of two non-cryptobenthic reef fishes (Haemulon

Sharks are undergoing population declines worldwide and it is imperative to devise conservation and management strategies to prevent their extinction. Oceanic whitetip sharks are large pelagic sharks distributed circumglobally and recent IUCN assessments classified them as “critically endangered.” Considering their vulnerability, we investigated the intraspecific diversity and genetic stock structure

Bear Seamount (39° 55′ N; 67° 30′ W) is the oldest and westernmost seamount in the New England Seamount Chain. It is located in the Marine National Monument on the continental slope south of Georges Bank and is influenced by unique ecological factors and currents. We enumerated and calculated the diversity, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and distribution of trawl-susceptible crustacean micronekton (2–20 cm)

The southeast Pacific (SEP) contains the home ranges of several migratory large whale species, determined largely based on research in coastal waters. These whales’ pelagic seasonal residency is unknown. The Juan Fernández Archipelago (JFA) is an offshore island in the SEP where passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data collection is ongoing at the HA03 hydroacoustic station (sample rate of 250 Hz) maintained

The echinoid Homolampas fragilis (A. Agassiz,1869) (Echinodermata) is recorded for the first time in the Brazilian coast from the Continental shelf of the State of Ceará. The specimens were classified based on their distinct morphological characters, including the fragile test, primary tubercles non-crenulated and with deep areoles, absent peripetalous fasciole, without aboral tubercles on the interambulacrum

Members of the lineid heteronemertean genus Euborlasia Vaillant, 1890 are relatively large-bodied ribbon worms, often with mottled, dark coloration. We describe Euborlasia maycoli sp. nov. from Bocas del Toro, Panama, which represents the 11th member, as well as the first Caribbean representative of the genus. We infer the phylogenetic position of the new species among the family Lineidae based on

Specimens of the sea anemone Halcampella minuta Wassilieff, 1908, (Actiniaria: Haloclavidae) were collected from several localities in Japan during 2014–2017. Although this species had previously been synonymized with Anemonactis mazeli (Jourdan, 1880) due to its smaller size and fewer tentacles, it was under dispute whether this sea anemone was in fact a different species. In this study, the taxon

Here, we present the taxonomy of five little-known cheilostome smittinid species of Bahia State, northeast Brazil, assigned to Hemismittoidea Soule & Soule, 1973, Smittina Norman, 1903, and Smittoidea Osburn, 1952. Specimens of four species previously reported in the studied area were reassessed: Hemismittoidea asymmetrica Ramalho et al., 2018, Smittina affinis (Hincks, 1862), Smittoidea evelinae (Marcus

The whitish hagfish, Eptatretus albiderma sp. nov., was collected from the northeast Sea of Vietnam (Da Nang). This new species possesses six pairs of gill apertures, three multicusps, 18–21 prebranchial slime pores, absent or one branchial slime pore, and whitish to pinkish body color. Eptatretus albiderma sp. nov. can be readily distinguished from Eptatretus atami (Dean, 1904) and Eptatretus sheni

Significant effort is spent on monitoring of benthic ecosystems through government funding or indirectly as a cost of business, and metabarcoding of environmental DNA samples has been suggested as a possible complement or alternative to current morphological methods to assess biodiversity. In metabarcoding, a public sequence database is typically used to match barcodes to species identity, but these

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals. Centuries of human persecution along with recent expansion of the fishing industry and intensive shoreline development, have isolated Mediterranean monk seals into small populations in the eastern Mediterranean Basin and eastern North Atlantic. We developed 19 microsatellite loci from the species’

Limited research effort in the Central Mediterranean deep sea has reported a lower species diversity in this area than in adjacent regions. With the recent advent of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), the deep sea has become more accessible to surveys, especially rocky benthic areas such as canyons and escarpments. The aim of the present study was to assess diversity, spatial and bathymetric