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All records of the 23 scleractinian species known to occur off Chile are reviewed, including the first records of seven for this coastline. Two species are described as new: Caryophyllia huinayensis and Tethocyathus endesa. Additional specimens of 15 of the 23 species are reported. All Chilean species are azooxanthellate, some occurring as deep as 4195 m; only six species occur at SCUBA depth. Three species are reported for the Juan Fernández Islands. The Chilean scleractinian fauna is considered to be depauperate, consisting of only 3% of the known azooxanthellate species.

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While large mass mortality events (MMEs) are well known for toothed whales, they have been rare in baleen whales due to their less gregarious behaviour. Although in most cases the cause of mortality has not been conclusively identified, some baleen whale mortality events have been linked to bio-oceanographic conditions, such as harmful algal blooms (HABs). In southern Chile, HABs can be triggered by the ocean-atmosphere phenomenon El Niño. The frequency of the strongest El Niño events is increasing due to climate change. In March 2015, by far the largest reported mass mortality of baleen whales took place in a gulf in southern Chile. Here we show that the synchronous death of at least 343, primarily sei, whales can be attributed to HABs during a building El Niño. Although considered an oceanic species, the sei whales died while feeding near to shore in previously unknown large aggregations. This provides evidence of new feeding grounds for the species. The combination of older and newer remains of whales in the same area indicate that MMEs have occurred more than once in recent years. Large HABs and reports of marine mammal MMEs along the north-east Pacific coast may indicate similar processes in both hemispheres. Increasing MMEs through HABs may become a serious concern in the conservation of endangered whale species.

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This report considers five species of hydroids collected during a scientific expedition to the Northern Patagonian Zone of Chile in March 2007. Two poorly known species, Halecium fraseri Ralph, 1958 (Haleciidae) and Thuiaria polycarpa Kirchenpauer, 1884 (Sertulariidae), are redescribed from new, fertile material. The genus Parathuiaria Leloup, 1974 is assigned to the synonymy of Thuiaria Fleming, 1828, and notes are provided on the taxonomy of its type species, T. polycarpa. Three other hydroid species, Halecium tenellum Hincks, 1861 (Haleciidae), Amphisbetia operculata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Sertulariidae), and an athecate hydroid tentatively assigned to the genus Turritopsis McCrady, 1857 (Oceaniidae), are mentioned and accompanied by figures and brief remarks.