ANTARCTIC BENTHOS
53
branchidae from the same collections, recording 18 species including
two new species, Laena pseudobranchia and Thelepides venustus, and
recorded Eupistella grubei (McIntosh) from the Antarctic for the first
time. Most of the species recorded belonged to endemic antarcticsubantarctic forms, with three species showing subtropical affinities,
while two were cosmopolitan. All the species collected were briefly
diagnosed, and figured where necessary. Full distributional data were
presented.
The distributional data presented by Hartman (1964, 1966) in her
two volumes on polychaetes have been analysed with an Antarctic
basis. The following conclusions are based upon a certain amount of
simplification but will serve to point some general conclusions. The
limits of the Antarctic region are those defined in the present work
including South Georgia. The total polychaete fauna for the area,
excluding pelagic forms and those occurring only over 1 000 m, is in
the neighbourhood of 228 species and subspecies. Of these 119 (52%)
are endemic to the area. The finer distribution of these 228 forms within
the Antarctic and the spread of some of them outside the Antarctic is
rather complicated. Some 60 species are found in the Antarctic only
in East Antarctica, 37 of these being endemic to the area, three are
also rather widely distributed outside the Antarctic, two are found also
in Kerguelen, one each also in Australia and New Zealand, while eight
are shared only with the Magellan region, two are found also in the
Magellan area and have a more or less cosmopolitan distribution outside the Antarctic-Subantarctic area, four are shared with the Magellan
region and varied Subantarctic areas while two more are shared with
the Magellan area and other parts of South America. These are probably
only paper complications and additional collections will certainly fill
some of the outstanding gaps.
Six species are found around the shores of the Antarctic Continent
(five endemic and one cosmopolitan species) while another four species
extend to the Antarctic Peninsula. Another 11 are circumpolar but
extend to South Georgia. Some 58 species occur around the continent
and extend to varying degrees t o the north in the area of the Scotia
Ridge. Six species are confined to the continent, another four reach the
Antarctic Peninsula, 12 more reach South Georgia, 22 extend into the
Magellan region, and another 18 extend beyond the Magellan region to
the Subantarctic Islands.
Within the area from the Bellingshausen Sea to the Magellan region
a number of distributional patterns can be discerned. Some 25 species
are found in the Antarctic only along the Antarctic Peninsula, although
five of these also occur outside the Antarctic, four species seem to be
A.X.B.-lO
8
53
branchidae from the same collections, recording 18 species including
two new species, Laena pseudobranchia and Thelepides venustus, and
recorded Eupistella grubei (McIntosh) from the Antarctic for the first
time. Most of the species recorded belonged to endemic antarcticsubantarctic forms, with three species showing subtropical affinities,
while two were cosmopolitan. All the species collected were briefly
diagnosed, and figured where necessary. Full distributional data were
presented.
The distributional data presented by Hartman (1964, 1966) in her
two volumes on polychaetes have been analysed with an Antarctic
basis. The following conclusions are based upon a certain amount of
simplification but will serve to point some general conclusions. The
limits of the Antarctic region are those defined in the present work
including South Georgia. The total polychaete fauna for the area,
excluding pelagic forms and those occurring only over 1 000 m, is in
the neighbourhood of 228 species and subspecies. Of these 119 (52%)
are endemic to the area. The finer distribution of these 228 forms within
the Antarctic and the spread of some of them outside the Antarctic is
rather complicated. Some 60 species are found in the Antarctic only
in East Antarctica, 37 of these being endemic to the area, three are
also rather widely distributed outside the Antarctic, two are found also
in Kerguelen, one each also in Australia and New Zealand, while eight
are shared only with the Magellan region, two are found also in the
Magellan area and have a more or less cosmopolitan distribution outside the Antarctic-Subantarctic area, four are shared with the Magellan
region and varied Subantarctic areas while two more are shared with
the Magellan area and other parts of South America. These are probably
only paper complications and additional collections will certainly fill
some of the outstanding gaps.
Six species are found around the shores of the Antarctic Continent
(five endemic and one cosmopolitan species) while another four species
extend to the Antarctic Peninsula. Another 11 are circumpolar but
extend to South Georgia. Some 58 species occur around the continent
and extend to varying degrees t o the north in the area of the Scotia
Ridge. Six species are confined to the continent, another four reach the
Antarctic Peninsula, 12 more reach South Georgia, 22 extend into the
Magellan region, and another 18 extend beyond the Magellan region to
the Subantarctic Islands.
Within the area from the Bellingshausen Sea to the Magellan region
a number of distributional patterns can be discerned. Some 25 species
are found in the Antarctic only along the Antarctic Peninsula, although
five of these also occur outside the Antarctic, four species seem to be
A.X.B.-lO
8