Examination of collections from the Aegean Sea and a review of the literature revealed that 592 polychaete species have been recorded from this area. Five of the species identified are reported for the first time from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, 38 species are new records for the Eastern Mediterranean and 55 are new elements for the Aegean polychaete fauna. Information on the habitat and the geographic distribution of the species newly reported from the Eastern Mediterranean is given. The checklist of the Aegean Polychaeta is presented. Although being located in the vicinity of the Eastern Mediterranean province and the Black Sea which are characterized as faunistically impoverished areas, the Aegean hosts a rich polychaete fauna, second in order in species diversity after the Western Mediterranean. The latter demonstrates the importance of this area in the understanding the patterns of polychaete distribution along the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Dataset
Arvanitidis C., 2000: Aegean polychaetes dataset. Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Greece, more
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