polychaetes
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Quick guides - List of Polychaete species introduced to Australia

The following list Australian records polychaete species that are presently classified as certain or probable introductions to Australia. Elsewhere we have discussed difficulties with assessing the status of potential introductions and supposedly cosmopolitan species of polychaetes.

Nereididae Neanthes succinea (Leuckart, 1847) Originally described from the North Sea, but has been spreading for decades through northern Europe, the Salton Sea, California and is apparently introduced to the Swan River, Western Australia, and to Port Phillip Bay, Port Hacking, Lake Macquarie and the Hawkesbury in southeastern Australia (Wilson, 1999).
Sabellidae Euchone limnicola Reish, 1959 Originally described from California, the Australian distribution is limited to major shipping harbours of southeastern Australia: Botany Bay, Port Phillip Bay, Portland Harbour, Port Fairy and the Port of Adelaide (Wilson, 1999; G. Parry pers. comm.).
Sabella spallanzanii (Gmelin, 1791) Well documented introduction to ports throughout southern Australia, Genetic testing indicates that the population in Port Phillip Bay is closely related to Mediterranean Sea populations. Also introduced to Japan, Brazil (Carey & Watson, 1992; Clapin & Evans, 1995; Wilson, 1999).
Spionidae Boccardia proboscidea Hartman, 1940 Described from California, but since reported from Japan, Panama and Port Phillip Bay, Victoria (where it is only abundant at areas of high organic enrichment), and thought to be introduced to those locations (Wilson, 1999).
Polydora ciliata (Johnston, 1838) Native to Europe, and an unconfirmed introduction to Australia.
Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata (Okuda, 1937) Type locality is Japan, but widely distributed throughout the Pacific. Probably introduced by humans, possibly as a cryptic inhabitant of oyster shells (Blake & Kudenov, 1978; Wilson, 1999).
Serpulidae Hydroides elegans (Haswell, 1883 ) Originally described from Port Jackson, Sydney and has now been reported from many tropical ports in Australia. In Sydney Harbour the species is widespread and forms a distinct subtidal zone. The possible synonymy of this species with Hydrodes norvegica Gunnerus, 1768 (from Europe) has been rejected by ten Hove (1974). Hydroides elegans has been reported widely from harbours around the world, but establishing its native distribution (which may or may not have included Sydney Harbour) is difficult.
Hydroides ezoensis Okuda, 1934 Hydroides ezoensis is a Japanese serpulid which was recently reported from mussel rafts in Sydney Harbour. It currently has a restricted distribution in Australia, suggesting it may have been recently introduced.
Hydroides sanctaecrucis Kröyer in Mörch, 1863 Hydroides sanctaecrucis, described from the West Indies, and common in Caribbean waters, has recently been found in large numbers on the bottom of a ship and nearby wharf piles in Cairns, Queensland.
Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel, 1923 Mercierella enigmatica has a confused taxonomic history (ten Hove, 1978). Records from Australian waters are as Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) or F. uschkovi (Pillai, 1960) with the latter species having a more tropical distribution in Australia. However both of these species occur around the world and appear to be capable of wide dispersal but taxonomic diffulties are such that both the native distribution and the present-day distribution of this species is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, the present-day distribution is thought to be partly due to accidental introduction as a hull fouling organism.

References

Blake, JA and Kudenov, JD. 1978. The Spionidae (Polychaeta) from southeastern Australia and adjacent areas with a revision of the genera. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria 39, 171-280.

Carey, JM and Watson, JE. 1992. Benthos of the muddy bottom habitat of the Geelong Arm of Port Phillip bay, Victoria, Australia. Victorian Naturalist, Melbourne 109, 196-202.

Clapin, G and Evans, DR. 1995. The status of the introduced marine fanworm Sabella spallanzanii in Western Australia: a preliminary investigation. CSIRO Division of Fisheries Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests Technical Report 2, 1-34.

Hutchings, PA, van der Velde, JT and Keable, SJ. 1987. Guidelines for the conduct of surveys for detecting introductions of non-indigenous marine species by ballast water and other vectors - and a review of marine introductions to Australia. Occasional Reports of the Australian Museum 3, 1-147.

Pollard, DA and Hutchings, PA. 1990. A review of exotic marine organisms introduced to the Australian region. II. Invertebrates and algae. Asian Fisheries Science 3, 223-250.

ten Hove, HA. 1974. Notes on Hydroides elegans (Haswell, 1883) and Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel, 1923, alien serpulid polychaetes introduced into the Netherlands. Bulletin Zoologisch Museum Universiteit van Amsterdam 4, 45-51.

ten Hove, HA and Weerdenburg, JCA. 1978. A generic revision of the brackish-water serpulid Ficopomatus Southern 1921 (Polychaeta: Serpulinae), including Mercierella Fauvel 1923, Sphaeropomatus Treadwell 1934, Mercierellopsis Rioja 1945 and Neopomatus Pillai 1960. Biological Bulletin 154, 96-120.

Wilson, RS. 1999. Annelida: Polychaeta of Port Phillip bay. Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests Technical Report 20, 108-128.