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Polynoidae
Natural History
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Polynoids are found in most habitats and depths from the intertidal to the deep sea and from the tropics to polar latitudes. They are not often present in highly estuarine habitats. One species may be partially pelagic. A number of distinctive taxa are known only from hydrothermal vents. Polynoids are active carnivores, and the most common prey are amphipod crustaceans, although most small invertebrates are eaten, and algae also occur in gut contents. Many polynoids are commensal on other invertebrates, especially echinoderms, stony corals, octocorals, sponges and within the tubes of other polychaetes. Species with smooth scales have often been shown to have commensal associations and those with ornamented scales to be free-living. An introduction to the literature on commensalism in polynoids is provided by Hutchings (2000).
Diversity
Polynoid diversity is difficult to assess, both because of the rapid description of new taxa and the uncertain status of many genera and subfamilies. The interactive key, though it attempts to include all genera within a classification comprising 19 subfamilies, must be considered highly provisional and more akin to an interim report on continuing revisionary studies.
Pettibone (1982) estimated polynoid diversity globally at
about 120 genera and 600 species. Additional studies since then bring the total to about 165 genera and 748 species. The Polynoidae is thus among the most speciose and most morphologically diverse of polychaete families. Australian records of polynoids number about 28 genera and more than 70 species. Clearly, many Australian polynoids remain undescribed and many existing records will require reassessment within a revised generic classification.
Description | Identification
tips | Natural History | Diversity
| Checklist | References
| Interactive Key
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