The 2019 symposium of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, entitled ‘Current taxonomic studies on invertebrate fauna in Kumano Sea’ was held on the occasion of the 90th annual meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan in Osaka City University during 12 to 14 September 2019. The five interesting talks were given by the special invited speakers: Hidetaka Furuya ‘Dicyemid fauna in the Kumanonada-Sea’; Takato Izumi ‘Isactinernus quadrilobatus Carlgren, 1918 (Anenthemonae: Actinernidae) collected from the Kumano Sea-To put an end to the taxonomical confusion by the specimen for a century!’; Masanori Okanishi ‘Ophiuroids from the Kumano Sea’; Naoto Jimi ‘Survey of benthic fauna in the Kumano Sea by T/S Seisui-Maru’: Takeya Moritaki ‘Collaboration between aquarium and researchers on invertebrates from Kumano Sea’.