World Polychaeta Database (WPolyDb) Thesis in open access
In the actual scenario of biodiversity and taxonomic crisis, it is essential not only to increase the taxonomic research, but also to provide taxonomic tools that enable and support accurate identifications. The present study analyses the Polychaeta of the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula continental shelf collected during the campaigns SEPLAT 6 and 7 (Southwestern Portugal) and Fauna 1 (Gulf of Cádiz, Gibraltar Strait and Alborán Sea). This region is biogeographically very interesting, marking the distribution limit of many septentrional and tropical marine species, and being continuous with the Mediterranean, a region considered to have a high level of endemisms. The study of the collected material yielded a total of 259 species, distributed by 46 families. The number of identified taxa was similar between the two campaigns, but only 29.7% of the species were shared between the two. Six new species were identified among the collected and additional material. A checklist of the Portuguese Polychaeta was also compiled, with a total of 605 species being recorded so far. An European Fauna of the benthic Polychaeta was elaborated, with the main purpose of providing, in a single comprehensive work, information on the species occurring in the region, as well as a much needed taxonomic tool for their identification. This Fauna was based on the works published from 1758 to 2011, and complemented with the studied material from the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. The considered geographical area ranges from northern Norway and eastern Greenland to Madeira, Selvagens, Canarias, and Mauritania, and from Azores to the Caspian Sea, including the adjacent continental shelves, slopes and abyssal plains. Each of the 1937 discussed species is provided with the original reference, synonymies, selected references, geographical distribution, depth range, ecology, and taxonomic remarks, whenever considered necessary, based on bibliography and studied material. A total of 1840 species are keyed.
Europe
Mediterranean
North Africa in general
North Atlantic
Fauna and Flora, Faunistic inventories, Checklists, Catalogues
Systematics, Taxonomy
