Up to 5 species are known (Blake, 1996), all of which are placed in the genus Apistobranchus. Apistobranchids are not known from the waters of mainland Australia, but there has been little systematic study in Australian waters of polychaetes from the shelf and slope communities in which they are most likely to occur. Apistobranchus glacierae is known from the Antarctic Peninsula (Hartman 1978).