New find of Dactylophrya-stage of parasitic suctorian of genus Tachyblaston Martin, 1909 (Ciliophora, Suctorea) with comments on genus taxonomy.

The article presents the new find of Dactylophrya-stage of rare parasitic suctorian ciliate of genus Tachyblaston on harpacticoid copepod from Mumbai, India. The found specimen was identified as Tachyblaston reversum (Collin, 1909), n. comb.

Mangroves in the "Plasticene": High exposure of coastal mangroves to anthropogenic litter pollution along the Central-West coast of India.

Anthropogenic litter is a ubiquitous stressor in the global ocean, and poses ominous threats to oceanic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. At the terrestrial-ocean interface, tropical mangrove forests are subject to substantial exposure to mismanaged litter from inland and marine sources. While the effects of litter in different marine ecosystems are well-documented, research on the ecological consequences of litter pollution on mangroves remain nascent stage.

Report of suctorian ciliates (Ciliophora, Suctorea) as epibionts on meiobenthic nematodes in an oxygen minimum zone of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean.

Three suctorian ciliate species, Paracineta livadiana (Mereschkowsky, 1881), Loricophrya bosporica Sergeeva Dovgal, 2014 and Acinetopsis lynni Baldrighi et al., 2020 are found as epibionts on meiobenthic nematodes in an oxygen minimum zone of the Arabian Sea. All three species are recorded here for the first time from the Indian Ocean.

A new species of genus Rhabdophrya (Ciliophora: Suctorea) from the west coast of India and comments on the genus taxonomy.

The article presents the description of a new species of the suctorian genus Rhabdophrya inhabiting the body surface (cuticle) of harpacticoid copepod from Navy-Nagar, Mumbai intertidal coralline region, west coast of India, the Arabian Sea. The diagnosis of the genus is refined, all other species diagnoses and identification keys are presented.

Report of deep-sea epibiont ciliates (Ciliophora) from more than 1000 m depth of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean.

The present article deals with the report of 7 suctorian epibiont species viz. Thecacineta calix, Actinocyathula homari, Loricophrya bosporica, L. cf.

Characterization of anthropogenic marine macro-debris affecting coral habitat in the highly urbanized seascape of Mumbai megacity.

Marine debris has become a major form of pollution and a serious ecosystem health concern. The present study evaluates the accumulation, origin, and fate of debris in intertidal coral habitats of Mumbai-one of the world's highly populated coastal cities on the west coast of India. Predominantly, seven hermatypic coral species belonging to seven genera and five families were identified and mainly represented by Pseudosidastrea, Porites, and Bernardpora.

A new genus and species of deep-sea glass sponge (Porifera, Hexactinellida, Aulocalycidae) from the Indian Ocean.

New hexactinellid sponges were collected from 2589 m depth on the Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian Ocean during deep-sea dredging. All fragments belong to a new genus and species, Indiellagen. n.

Megafaunal community structure of Andaman seamounts including the Back-arc Basin--a quantitative exploration from the Indian Ocean.

Species rich benthic communities have been reported from some seamounts, predominantly from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but the fauna and habitats on Indian Ocean seamounts are still poorly known. This study focuses on two seamounts, a submarine volcano (cratered seamount--CSM) and a non-volcano (SM2) in the Andaman Back-arc Basin (ABB), and the basin itself. The main purpose was to explore and generate regional biodiversity data from summit and flank (upper slope) of the Andaman seamounts for comparison with other seamounts worldwide.