Hutchings, P.
The Australian Museum, 6, College Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
The Terebellidae are one of the larger polychaete families with over 60 genera and several hundred species described and occurring in a wide variety of habitats. They have been traditionally classified as belonging to one of three subfamilies, Polycirrinae and Thelepodinae, Amphitritinae, based on the presence or absence of branchiae, and the arrangement and structure of uncini. A previously accepted subfamily Artacaminae has been placed within the Amphitritinae according to a recent study by McHugh (1995). To date the validity of the other subfamilies has not been tested. A suite of genera from the three subfamilies have been selected and coded using a suite of morphological characters and a cladistic analysis run to test the validity of the subfamilies and the placement of genera within these. In addition the genus Artacama will also be included to test or reject McHugh's hypothesis. Outgroups being used include representatives of the Terebellida. The resulting classification will also be compared with those being obtained from molecular data.