First records of Lamellaria latens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Velutina plicatilis (O.F. Müller, 1776) (Caenogastropoda, Velutinidae) from the southern North Sea

During the 2019 expedition of ‘Stichting Duik de Noordzee Schoon’ (ddnzs Foundation, or Dive to Clean the North Sea) several species were collected from ship wrecks that have not previously been recorded from the southern North Sea. A remarkably large specimen of Lamellaria latens (O.F. Müller, 1776) was found on the Queenford (40 km W of IJmuiden, The Netherlands) and juvenile specimens on the Ocean Prince and Inger Neilsen (Dogger Bank, United Kingdom). A juvenile specimen of Velutina plicatilis (O.F. Müller, 1776) was found on the St Luke (Dogger Bank, United Kingdom) and another on the U97 (105 km nw of Den Helder, The Netherlands). Over the last decade numerous species have been reported for the first time as autochthonous from wrecks in the Dutch part of the southern North Sea as a result of the ddnzs and other dive campaigns. They are part of the rich fauna living on hard substrates. As most are well known from the rocky shores of the British Isles it is likely that these species have previously been underreported due to sampling methods employed.